


Miracle on Wall Street

by MonsterGalore



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No Curse, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Smut, F/F, Magical Realism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-25
Updated: 2016-02-28
Packaged: 2018-04-17 03:46:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 29,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4651053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MonsterGalore/pseuds/MonsterGalore
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Santa Claus, secretly known as Emma Swan, has spent a millennium making dreams and wishes come true for everyone else since the responsibility of her family's name was passed to her. This year though could be the year a little boy makes her dreams finally come true. Enjoy!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Christmas Eve Wish

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Once Upon A Time.
> 
> I got this idea last Christmas, from a movie I found on HBO...I don't remember the title but I do remember Santa delivering a kayak and knocking over a tree and I realized that Magic Realism existed in that movie but wasn't acknowledged, it just was...so I wanted to make a SQ fic like that but with my own little lesbian twist. Lol.

**SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ**

**SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ**

_**[Mayor Mills Manor, 108 Mifflin Street, New York city...11:52 pm, Christmas Eve]** _

_Christmas Eve is the night every kid in the world of all ages tries to stay up and wait for Santa Claus to come down their chimney. It was a night that all of their wishes came true...and they didn't just receive the typical bikes, dolls and toy trains—Santa delivered the goods. Everything from gaming consoles, headphones, and camera's...to tuition checks (to help those who really deserved it), clothing and kayaks._

_It's still a topic of discussion if Santa Claus is real or not—because there will_ always  _be doubters, the dubious ones are always the ones saying that Santa is just a myth, that none of it's real. That there isn't any toy factory or a village full of jolly elves at the North Pole._

_Yet they couldn't ever explain the outrageous and extraordinary gifts reported all around the world, in millions of homes. Parents swore up and down that the gifts their children received every year were their pay-grade and it was exactly what they wanted. Of course it wasn't just the children who worked hard to stay on Santa's 'Nice' list. Santa Claus was just another wonder of the world...that and magic realism._

_But there was one little four year old boy that lived in New York city—and he believed in Santa Claus more than any other child and adult in the world. He wished with all his heart that Santa would come see him, even if just for one time. And on this Christmas Eve—was the night he was going to meet his favorite icon._

_Henry Mills was already dressed for bed in his spongebob pajamas and socks. His mother had bathed him and tucked him in hours ago—she was upstairs knocked out from the cold medicine she took to help her sleep. Little Henry was hiding behind the sofa with his flashlight and Spiderman comic books. He had a perfect view of the fire place, small table and lamp where Santas walnut brownies and hot cocoa with whip cream and cinnamon on top, waited. He and his mother made them with love and lots of fun, and she even let him stir and lick the bowl. It wasn't something Henry got to do everyday and he cherished the moment._

_Henry yawned loudly, closing his comic. He was about to pick up another one when soft thudding came from upstairs—from the roof! He quickly pushed his comic books aside and shut off his flash light, eyes wide with excitement, no longer thinking about sleep._

_The little believer didn't have to wait long. A giant red duffel bag fell through the chimney...and then like magic, there was a gray cloud of smoke in the middle of his living room. Henry's brown eyes widened and his mouth fell open, his little heart may burst out of his chest with the amount of excitement buzzing through his small body. Santa Claus wore a fine red suit with the white fur cuffs and lining that obviously kept Santa warm—and it was very stylish. Santa also had the black boots with the shiny buckles on the side...but one thing that stood out to Henry, besides Santa being skinnier than the ones he saw on TV—_

" _You're a girl!" he shouted before realizing what he had done and clamped both his small hands over his mouth._

_Santa, however, simply chuckled and retrieved her bag before going to kneel in front of the Mills' large and beautifully decorated Christmas tree. "Yes I am Henry, and you're supposed to be in bed young man."_

_Henrys eyes—if even possible—grew larger. "You know my name! Santa knows my name!"_

_The blonde haired woman set the last present down beneath the tree and stood, simultaneously turning to face the little boy and he realized just how super tall Santa was—at least in his eyes she was super tall._

" _Santa knows everything...even when little children are way up past their bed time waiting for Christmas and their presents."_

_Henry shook his head, and came out from behind the sofa, feeling braver than before. "No Santa...I wasn't waiting for no presents—I was waiting for you. I have something for you."_

_The blonde in the red suit raised a 'brow, normally she wouldn't just linger in a home but she saved the Mills home as her very last stop because she knew little Henry was waiting for her—he was her truest believer after all, and she wouldn't lie...she wanted to meet him too, even if it was just this once. "Like...a present?" she usually gives the presents...not received them. This was quite a surprise—an odd surprise, but not at all an unpleasant one._

_Henry nodded eagerly, "Yeah...wait here okay Santa? Stay! Don't go nowhere, please!"_

_He didn't wait for her to answer, he just turned and ran upstairs to his room—mindful to keep his steps light so he wouldn't wake his mother because he knew how much she loved her sleep. Rushing into his room and Henry reached under the bed to grab the present he wrapped by himself at school and ran back down stairs as fast as his little legs could carry him. He found Santa sitting in the chair near the fire place sipping the cocoa he and his mother had made earlier and eating a brownie. He hoped she liked them, they were made with love after all._

" _Here Santa this is for you...and my Christmas wish for next year!" he shoved a piece of paper in her hand._

_Santa smiled gently, "Wow, you sure don't waste time do you kid?" she opened the paper, easily deciphering the messy writing. "Love and...happiness? That's what you want next year?"_

_Henry shook his head and climbed onto Santa's lap without much thought and snuggled into her front. The Jolly Icon and supposed myth was surprised, again, but she wasn't uncomfortable—so she didn't think to remove him. "No Santa. It's for my mommy. My mommy's lonely and sad all the time. I want her to be happy and loved."_

" _Oh. Um, I see." Santa blinked and swallowed, that was a tall order from someone so small. "I can't make any promises little guy...but I will try my best to make your mommy happy as she can be. Love can't be forced with magic kiddo, I'm not cupid ya know? But I promise to keep an eye on your mom this year...does that sound fair to you?...Henry?"_

_She leaned back slightly to look down at him when she didn't get an immediate response and saw that he was fast asleep. Santa decided to let him sleep on her for a while longer, taking the time to think about what she could do to fulfill this little boys wish. After a while, she finally realized that she had been there far too long._

_Santa quietly took Henry upstairs and tucked him in before going back downstairs and gathering her belongings. Before she left, however, she made sure to erase her face from Henry's mind but she allowed him to keep this memory for as long as he continued to believe._

_Back on the roof, Santa put away her empty duffel bag and she climbed into her sleigh. Finally giving into her curiosity...Santa opened Henry's gift and gasped softly but Blitzen had heard her and looked behind him curiously. But Santa was too preoccupied with the paper hand-made snowflake to pay him any mind at the moment. It was unevenly cut and nearly thin enough to be disconnected in some areas but it was a snowflake none the less, and it was adorable. The present wasn't as lavish as the ones she delivered once a year, but the thought and love behind it warmed Santa's heart. She closed her black leather covered hand around it and her magic hummed softly for a few moments._

_When she opened her hand, sitting in her palm was the thin paper snowflake was now crystallized with a silver chain...it still just as crooked and thin, but it was stronger than it was before. Santa slipped it around her neck, then finally picked up her reigns. "Let's go home boys!"_

**SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ**

**SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ**


	2. Please Be Their Savior?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Glad the introduction was successful, I was aiming for cute! Lol. Uh...right, like I said in the first chapter...this is a Christmas Tale, but it's not gonna be orbiting around that single holiday. If that were the case, this story will be over quickly. Lol. Have a fun read!

**SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ**

**SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ**

_**CEO E. Swans office, Wall Street New York [ Monday, January 1 st 11:03 am]** _

Emma Swan sighed heavily with relief when her office door finally slammed shut and she hoped that no one else with a trivial work issue knocked on her door for the rest of the day. Working on Wall Street was her worst nightmare—sometimes, but it had good perks. She was arguably one of the richest people in the world, but no one really knew for sure. It wasn't like Emma went around handing out copies of her bank statements—her personal assistant and life saver, Belle French, didn’t even know how much money her boss had in her bank. Belle didn't even know which bank Emma used.

Emma Swan is a very busy woman, as current CEO of Arendelle International Stock & Trade of Wall Street New York, it was exceedingly rare to see her out of her usual business suits or high priced dresses and heels—she didn’t have much time for a social life, let alone a love life. She was always hiring escorts to be her date at fund raiser events in New York and surrounding cities, though her dates varied between men and women frequently, never the same face.

It's a wearisome lifestyle to maintain and Emma just wanted to quit and go back home—but she knew she would regret that decision and grow lonely and most likely lose her mind. Turning her executive leather chair around, Emma stared down at the people hustling below her building—oblivious to everything except themselves and their problems. Emma wondered how it felt, to not care about anyone else but herself—those thoughts were quickly pushed into a dark corner in her mind.

Down below, a commotion was happening— Emma leaned forward slightly to get a better look, and saw that it was nothing but those pesky reporters. They were currently flocking an up to date, sleek black Mercedes. Emma knew exactly who that was and smiled; watching the Mayor of New York strut past the reporters like they weren't even there with camera's in her face and yelling out questions one at a time. It seemed like Mayor Mills was paying her an unexpected visit today.

Emma turned around and straightened out her work space while looking around to make sure her office was nice and tidy—she often spent nights here, and it wasn't anything shocking to see that she had clothes all over the place for the people who worked close with her. Though she doubted the Mayor would appreciate such a mess, if it wasn't for her sons wish... Emma Swan would care less if the Mayor was pleased with  _her_ office or not. A resounding knock broke through her musings.

“Yes, come in!” Emma called as she stood, smoothing the invisible lines on her cream colored slacks that fit her slim legs perfectly. She was never the one for dresses like some of her co-workers, she preferred beautiful and simple pants suits that made her look elegant and attractive—which wasn't that hard to do. She had dozens of colored suits with many name brand heels and boots ( though she preferred her boots more) and accessories to make business attire runway models look a bit silly and superficial.

Her secretary, Belle French, opened the door. “Ms. Swan, Mayor Mills is here to see you.” she announced right before Regina Mills herself breezed past the shorter brunette and walked into the familiar office of Emma Swan.

“Thank you Belle. You can go ahead and take your lunch break.”

Belle tried not to look too relieved but she failed. She hated dealing with Mayor Mills—especially after her last visit when Belle got her coffee order wrong and to make it worse, she dropped it; and Regina was not shy about letting Belle have it in front of her boss and co-workers. “Yes ma’am. I'm going down to the Steak Bar and Grill, would you like anything?”

“Um...” Emma hummed quietly, watching Regina take a seat and cross her legs at the knee—her gray dress riding up slightly exposing her toned and bare thighs. Emma looked away, focusing back on Belle before she stared too long and embarrassed herself. “If it's not too much trouble Belle...can you pick me up some sushi from Miyako's? And take my car. Here.”

Emma fished her remote key from her Armani brief case that was sitting on her desk and tossed it across her office to Belle who caught it easily. With a mock salute, Belle retreated from the office and closed the door soundly behind her. Regina cleared her throat and Emma finally turned her undivided attention to her guest with a slight smile. “Well I hope you don't mind me saying that it's a surprise to see you here in my office.”

“Yes, I understand and I apologize for dropping in on such short notice Ms. Swan.”

Emma rubbed her hands together , almost nervously, in front of her as she stepped out from behind her desk. “It's fine Mayor Mills, you're welcome by anytime. I'm just surprised is all. Would you like anything to drink?”

“No thank you, I don't plan on keeping you long.” The short haired brunette declined politely and watched Emma make her way to the bar and pour herself bourbon whiskey on the rocks. With her back turned, Regina was given the opportunity to study the sharply dressed executive up close.

There was just something so mysterious and intriguing about the relatively young Wall Street powerhouse that everyone loved to envy. Regina Mills could respect a woman who was as commanding as she was, being the woman that everyone loved to hate—she understood why Emma was so guarded and elusive. Having beauty and being an available woman living in New York  _and_  working a “Mans Job” was not easy. Regina could attest to that first hand. As Mayor of the city that never sleeps, she was constantly being pushed and she wanted nothing more than to take a break from it all and spend time with her little boy. She thought about quitting more times than she really cared to admit.

Emma took the seat next to Regina and crossed her legs at the knee. Her pants had ridden up a bit, showing off her new pure leather ankle high boots with two gold buckles and a gold zipper—and Regina envied them, and she didn’t even wear boots. “So Madam Mayor... What's up?”

 _'What's up?'_...Regina found herself forced to acknowledge just how  _young_  Emma Swan was. She may be dressed the part but it didn’t necessarily mean she had the entire script of professional etiquette down—as far as Regina was concerned. Emma Swans true age was  _still_ a mystery amongst media and though she would deny it straight to hell—Regina was jealous of the womans seemingly eternal youth. Sure...Regina was stunningly at only 33 years old but Emma Swan had to  _at least_  be her age or a bit older.

Mayor Mills cleared her throat once more and soothed out her gray dress, “Ms. Swan as you know, it is a well known fact that my son is adopted.” Emma nodded, taking a healthy swallow of her drink. “The city is shutting down the orphanage, his old home, due to insufficient funds...I obviously cannot fund it because of my obvious status but--”

“But if you get someone else to, it’ll stay open?” Emma cut in with a tiny, but knowing, smile. “A woman doing a supposed mans job is tough—but since they can't do anything about it, they subtlety threaten your image...right? I can see it now,  _“Mayor squanders city funds for personal use!”._ Good cause or not.”

“Yes.” Regina nodded curtly, red lips pursing softly—not pleased with being interrupted. “I only come to you because of all the powerful people I know in this city—you are the less blood thirsty, and I do believe you're not trying to get into my pants.”

“I am just as blood thirsty as the next shark Madam Mayor, I didn’t become CEO of the biggest trade and stock company by blowing rainbows and unicorns out of my ass.” Regina cringed at the crass language, but it went unnoticed or ignored. Emma finished the rest of her drink before continuing, “But...I have a heart, so I'll be happy to help. How much does your sons orphanage need?”

Regina paused to pick and choose her words very carefully, “Henrys previous home...was not in the best neighborhood nor is it in the best conditions but these children will have no where else to go—and...and  _what_  is so funny Ms Swan?” This was no laughing matter! Regina was being serious, and this woman was... _laughing at her!_

Emma knew her chuckling irritated Regina but the blonde paid the other woman no mind—even though Regina's glare could've reduced her to nothing but ashes. “I've already said yes Madam Mayor, you don't need to pitch it to me. How much does your sons orphanage need? Roughly.”

“Roughly...three hundred thousand.” Honestly, both Regina and Emma knew for a fact that, that much money wasn't exactly necessary...the orphanage could survive on less than half that amount.

Emma simply nodded, not at all bothered by the unnecessarily high zero count. She stood and went behind her desk to pull out her black check book. “I can write you a check right now and--”

“Ms. Swan, wait.” Emma stopped mid-writing and looked up at Regina curiously. “I believe it would be better if you came to see the orphanage for yourself. The children...would like to thank their savior in person.”

Emma shook her head, tittering under her breath. “I'm no savior Madam Mayor, trust me.”

Regina stood, smiling softly. Now gone the hard-assed Mayor of New York and now Emma was seeing the softness of the woman who was a mother trying to create an unobstructed path for her little boys future and every other little kid that needed a home as well—or at the very least; hope. Emma caught a glimpse of the beautiful soul hidden inside of Regina Mills.

“I do trust you Ms. Swan, which is why I came to you in the first place.”

“I understand and I'm flattered that I was your first choice. Really, I am.” Emma set her checkbook and pen down hesitantly. “ But...wouldn't it be easier to donate this as an anonymous check? Happens everyday, and quite frankly I'm shocked you haven’t thought of this.”

Regina frowned, shaking her head and ignoring Emma's unintentional jab. “Submitting an anonymous check is out of the question. I'm the only person in this city that is concerned about that orphanage. I am a very public figure, and my office is not secure enough to do whatever I like just yet. A woman of your stature should sympathize.” Regina was never the one to beg anyone for anything, she did it once with her mother...never again shall she make that mistake. But at this very moment, Regina was toeing the line.

Fingers thrummed on hard, dark genuine oak wood. “I do sympathize with your current situation Madam Mayor but you must be considerate of mine as well. I don't mind giving the orphanage the money, I don't...but I do mind being called some sort of Savior. Being called something you're not...it's...well it opens doors to things you don't want.”

Regina caught Emma's glance at the lone picture frame on her desk, and though she was curious—she didn’t care to analyze that look at the moment. “I suppose you're right Ms. Swan, and I...apologize for my poor choice of words, however; I do stand firm that you presenting the donation yourself will give the children someone to look up to.”

Emma laughed out right this time, again much to Regina's annoyance. “This is New York...they look up to Spider-Man, not a Wall Street executive. They're kids Mayor Mills, not Harvard kiss asses. I'd rather not go--”

“So that's it then? You're worried about the neighborhood? I agree that it is not the safest neighborhood but--”

“It's not that.” Emma blurted out hastily, “It's not that I promise!” Because Lord knows she's seen far worse than the projects in New York.

“Then you don't like children then?”

“I...” Emma paused, but she came up blank with the words to express that she did love kids... “No It's just...I love kids I really do, you have no idea. But I don't think it would be such a good idea for me to be there and be something I'm not. I'm not a savior Madam Mayor. I don't feel it's really necessary for me to be there.”

“I see.” Madam Mayor's brown eyes hardened once more and Emma licked her pink lips nervously, looking down at her desk like a child about to be scolded. “We both know that  _I_ cannot present the check for obvious reasons. If I'd known that this would be such an inconvenience for you I wouldn't have bothered.”

“What?” Emma moved around her desk to stop the shorter womans exit, almost tripping over her laptop cord in the process. “Can I wire the money then? I'll even add an extra two-hundred grand.”

Regina gathered her handbag, and forced a smile “Thank you for your time.”

Emma sighed, running a hand through her hair. “Madam Ma--”

“Good bye Ms. Swan.” Regina turned on her heel, clutching her handbag tightly and walked out of Emma's office letting the door slam shut on her way out.

Emma ran her hands over her face, how the hell had that gone from zero to one-hundred so damn fast? Madam Mayor really was the Devil in Prada, “This is gonna be harder than I thought. Fuck.”

SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ

_**Unnamed Orphanage, Brownsville New York [ Monday, January 1 st 2:45 pm]** _

Regina Mills parked her Mercedes along the curb across the street from the run down orphanage her son, Henry, once called home. If she didn’t know any better, she'd think the building would collapse at any moment, brick by brick. Henry was the only child adopted from the orphanage but even that was by chance, pure luck some will call it. Regina had run into Mary Margaret, the Matron of the orphanage, at the supermarket of all places. Mary Margaret had a screaming and restless baby in her arms as she struggled to pick out the right baby formula to add to her already full grocery basket. Regina did not know what possessed her to abandon her own groceries to help some strange woman with a baby that night, but she did—and she did not regret it.

When Mayor Mills had gotten the phone call just after Christmas from Mary Margaret that the state was no longer sending her money for the children and that they were being shut down, Regina had tried her damnedest to get the city to reconsider, but there was nothing she could do...the Governor wanted to tear down that portion of Brownsville and rebuild it into God knows what. Regina held financial meetings, but their hands were tied as well—Regina had promised the city, the previous year, that she'd fix the roads and donate the states extra money to the schools that were in serious financial trouble.

She wanted to pay for it herself, but Brownsville was being torn down... Mary Margaret and the children didn’t just need food, water and heat...they needed a brand new start. Regina was Mayor to the largest city in the United States...but she didn’t have the money to cover what these kids really needed...not without dipping into the city's funds. Her back was already pushed against the wall with other political bullshit...she needed outside help, and she had keenly remembered four years ago when she met Emma Swan.

The blonde still looked the same then...she congratulated Regina on beating Sidney Glass by a mile and told Regina if she ever needed anything, her door was always open.

But after the disaster meeting with Emma Swan this morning, it all went down hill the rest of the day. If Emma Swan said no, everyone said no—it didn’t matter how word got around, Regina was still without a solution. It was one of the things Regina hated about politics in New York (and just politics in general, everywhere) it was monkey see monkey do.

Regina stepped out of her vehicle not at all concerned about her surroundings since she had a pistol in her purse which she held close to her side but there was no need, the street was clear of anyone else. It was just her car and the ratty old school bus that belonged to the orphanage that occupied the curb across from the ratty building that housed dozens of children.

“Mayor Mills.”

Regina jumped out of her skin and turned around hand flying into her purse for her pistol until she realized who those beautiful green eyes belonged to. No one other than Emma Swan of Wall Street, wearing a nice black coat over her cream colored suit with her leather brief case in her right hand.

“Ms. Swan? What the hell do you think you're doing? I could have hurt you!”

Smirking, Emma glanced down at the purse that contained the pistol Regina was now gripping like it was her life line. Emma stuffed her free hand in the pocket of her black coat, taking a step back. “I'm sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you Madam Mayor.”

Regina shook her head with a shaky exhalation, and removed her hand from her purse slowly. Composing herself quickly, Regina straightened her back, looking more regal that her position deserved.  _She truly is a beautiful woman_ , Emma thought. “It's quite alright Miss Swan, just do not make a habit of it or it will prove to be very fatal for you.”

Smirk still in place, blonde curls bounce gently when Emma bowed her head in acknowledgment. “Noted.”

“What are you doing here?”

The smirk faded from Emma's face as she gestured to the building behind Regina across the street, “I'm here to help you give these kids someone to look up to, Madam Mayor. I must also apologize for my rudeness earlier...I didn’t mean to make you feel as if I didn’t want to help you...I just...” Emma trailed off, and shrugged as if that solved everything but it didn’t. It confused the brunette even more but Regina wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Not now at least, she was just thankful that she wasn't going to be delivering devastating news to Mary Margaret and the children who were old enough to understand.

“Apology accepted Ms. Swan...and for what it is worth, I am pleased to see you here. And without your car?” Regina observed when she looked around for Emma's car, to make sure she hadn’t missed Emma's car, though it'd be hard to in this sort of neighborhood.

Emma shrugged casually, too casually for Regina's liking. “Took a taxi.”

Regina's intense brown eyes narrowed, and her infamous brow lifted. “This orphanage isn’t listed—how did you know where to find it and when the hell did you get here?” Emma Swan being here at the right time and place would make sense, but considering that Regina didn’t divulge the orphanage address to Emma Swan this morning and the fact that Regina didn’t specifically set a time for when she would be dropping in with the good or bad news—something didn’t quite add up.

Emma pressed her tongue on her right cheek, it was careless on her part but the Mayor wasn't returning any of her calls so she decided to just surprise the brunette. “It doesn’t really matter, I'm here and those kids could use a miracle right about now.”

Mayor Mills pursed her red lips, but she couldn't argue that point, no matter how badly she wanted to. “Yes of course, after you Ms. Swan.”

The blonde executive walked around the brunette and made her way across the street to the orphanage, with a bemused Regina following after her. Emma was even more a mystery than she, or anyone else, realized.

**SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ**

**SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aren't they so cute together? Lol, until next time.
> 
> Monster Galore


	3. Hard Knock Life of Being Santa

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own OUAT. 
> 
> This chapter is not beta'd, all mistakes are my own and probably fixed later if and when I find them.:)

**SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ**

**SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ**

_**Local grocery store in Brooklyn, New York [Thursday, January 8 th 6:37 pm]** _

Pushing her grocery basket full of junk food down the frozen food isle Emma sighed for the fifth time in the span of ten minutes. She didn’t really have anything in her basket except for a few dozen _Jimmy Dean's_ breakfast bowls, blueberry waffles, a cheesecake, bread, sugary cereal that was most likely bad for her teeth and a twelve-pack box of hot pockets. She had alcohol at home, so she didn’t bother going down that isle. Since she wasn't a big fan of pizza, the Wall Street CEO was now trying to decide between the left over frozen lasagna and chicken alfredo ...that is until she spotted Regina Mills coming down the isle with her body guard, Robin Locksley, in town. Robin was short and burly, and he had always looked liked he was plucked off the streets, and the suits he was required to wear didn’t really help improve his image.

It had been about a week since Emma helped the Mayor of New York keep her sons previous home, 'the unnamed orphanage' in operation. Despite Regina's attempts to keep the entire ordeal under wraps, but it somehow still made the front page. However Regina's fears of her image taking a hit was fruitless, though the act of kindness went ignored; the press focused on the fact that Mayor Mills did in fact have some pull with powerful people in New York—though the deal that was constructed between Emma Swan and the Mayor remained a mystery, Mayor Mills' actions shut down more than a few of her naysayers.

Even though they hadn’t officially agreed on it, Emma still donated more than half of Regina's original asking price. The orphanages mother, Mary Margaret, had happily and gratefully accepted the offered money and moved herself and the children into a bigger and better in a safer neighborhood that wasn't too far from the school the children already attended. Mary Margaret also purchased two new buses to transport them back and forth, and hired a nanny to help her with the children. After putting away what Mary Margaret thought they needed, she took the rest of the money and donated it to other struggling foster homes around the city and to homeless shelters, much to Emma surprise but not Regina's. Mary Margaret had a big heart when she first met her, and it hadn’t changed in all the years she's known the woman...otherwise she would have abandoned those children just as their parents did.

To show their appreciation, the kids wrote letters to Emma and Regina, mainly Emma. Some were typed and some were in crayon with backward letters and a bit sloppy, but the effort put into those letters and drawings brightened Emma's day when Belle brought in the small delivery box.

“Mayor Mills, fancy running into you here.”

“Ms. Swan,” Regina inclined her head, smiling softly as she brought her own shopping cart to halt near Emma's. “It's nice to see you again, how are you?”

Emma rolled her shoulders nonchalantly, “Fine, I guess. Up to my neck in paper work. Yourself?”

Regina waved her hand this way and that, but offered no verbal response. Emma was about to tease the brunette about the gesture, but before she could even open her mouth, a small voice belonging to a small person she hadn’t even noticed spoke to her. “Hi.”

Vibrant green eyes peered down into the basket and found a cute little boy sitting between a variety of healthy foods with a commando action figure and an armored Tyrannosaurus Rex in his hands. Emma smiled sweetly, “Well hello there Henry Mills.”

Henry's eyes narrowed somewhat, Emma thought it was cute. “How do you know my name?”

“Yes, how _do_ you know his name Miss Swan?” Regina asked, though she hardly sounded as suspicious as her son. Henry's name was mentioned in a few local magazine articles that Regina interviewed for and she does recall calling her son by name in Emma's presence the previous week, she was just surprised the blonde actually remembered.

“The same way I know that Commander Skull and Dino Rex aren't friends.”Emma shrugged, winking playfully.

Henry offered Emma a mega watt smile, though he was missing two teeth at the bottom. Still standing off to the side, Robin sighed inwardly, shaking his head somewhat. He hated that Henry was allowed to play with toys and watch cartoons that held no real value, and he hated that Regina allowed the young boy to indulge his cartoon cravings every weekend rather than put him outside and get dirty. He thought she coddled him way too much, and it was another point proven that women should not be allowed to raise boys without a man to help because women raised punks not men.

Regina, oblivious to her bodyguards displeased frown, on the other hand couldn't help but find mild amusement from the fact that Emma knew something about action figures and the cartoon shows they originated from. The Wall Street CEO had no idea that the Mayors son would be so _enthusiastic_ about action figures, but Regina didn’t have to come to the rescue because Emma seemed quite fluent with talking with children, more so than she had let on, Regina took notice of that at the orphanage last week. Emma kept up with Henry's incessant ramblings that were all over the place, he's never met an adult liked the same super hero cartoons he did, hell, he's never met any kids his age that liked Commander Skull either. While Emma kept her son busy, Regina began looking through the breakfast foods on the other side of the isle, going for the healthier choices.

In midst of their conversation, Henry got too excited and Dino Rex went flying out of the cart. Emma bent down to pick him up, as she stood back up and gave it back to the boy, Henry eyes zeroed in on the necklace hanging from Emma's smooth neck, his words caught in his throat. Regina and Robin immediately noticed the silence and both turned, relieved that he was in no danger, but confused as to why he just stopped talking.

Emma realized what he was looking at and quickly tucked away the necklace, “You know, I have a super collection of the Commando's and Dino Warriors, even Commander Creed and Titan the Spinosaurus...and let me tell you, Titan is even bigger than me!”

That caught Henry's attention, eyes widening with wonder. _“No way!”_

“Yes way, I even have all 7 Dragon Balls with Vegeta guarding them.”

Henry had forgotten all about his own Commander Skull and Dino Rex, he looked like he was ready to climb out of the basket and go home with Emma, “What else do you have?”

“Well I have—”

“Okay Miss Swan!” Regina cut off whatever Emma was about to say as she put a box of waffles in the basket, “Before you break my poor son, we have to be going.”

“Aw man...” Henry pouted and sat back in the basket.

Even though Emma was disappointed as well, she understood. “Of course Madam Mayor, my apologies.”

Henry perked up once again, looking up at Emma with inquisitive brown eyes, “You should come to our house so I can show you _my_ collection!”

“Henry Mills! You do not invite strangers to our home!” Regina scolded her son immediately, then turned to Emma apologetically. “No offense Ms. Swan.”

Henry turned around, trying out his newly acquired weapon; the puppy eyes. “But—”

“No Henry.” Regina interrupted sternly, her tone leaving absolutely no room for argument from her four year old son.

Emma chuckled, holding up both of her hands and walking back towards her own basket. “No offense taken Mayor Mills. You all have a good night, and please be safe. And you...” Henry looked up, his eyes watery, breaking Emma's heart just a little. “Listen to your mother kid because she's right, I _am_ a stranger.”

After a courteous nod, Emma continued on with her junk food scavenger hunt while the Mills family and their bodyguard went to the front of the supermarket, and checked out.

SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ

_**Mayor Mills Manor...2108 Mifflin Ave, Brooklyn, New York...[ 7:09 pm]** _

After dropping Robin off at the front gate of the Mills Manor, Regina and Henry carried their groceries inside as it began to pour down heavily outside, maybe the weatherman finally got something right Regina mused as she kicked off her heels by the back door to dry.

Henry used the bar stool to sit on top of the kitchen counter to help his mom put away the groceries by handing her anything closest to him.

“Henry...” Regina started as she put the last can of soup away in the pantry and closed the door. She went around the kitchen island to stand in front of her son, hands flat on the counter on either side of his little body. “You do not ask strangers into our home without permission, do you understand me?”

Henry looked at Regina curiously, “But she wasn't a stranger mommy, she's been to our house before... _a lot.”_ he whispered as if it was some kind of conspiratorial secret.

“Excuse me?” Regina blinked several times, confused.

Henry smiled, nodding excitedly. “Yeah! Once a year. That was Santa Claus mommy!”

Regina was now even more confused. She was aware that he knew that Emma was the one that helped his previous home out of poverty, but he _never_ mentioned Emma being Santa Claus before—until now. “Henry, sweetie...Emma Swan is _not_ Santa Claus. She was just nice enough to donate to the orphanage.”

Henry sighed and shook his head, “That's what she does! Santa is _supposed_ to help kids like me... I've met Santa and gave her the snowflake...she was wearing it! I seen it! And--”

“Henry!” Regina cut in sternly, with a touch of worry. “Emma Swan is not Santa Claus okay? Santa is a man that lives in the North Pole, not a woman living and working in New York.”

“But I remember mommy! I remember! I waited for Santa and I remember!”

Regina was becoming increasingly worried about her son, and why the hell he was so damn convinced that Emma Swan of all people was in their house in the middle of the night on Christmas Eve. “Ahem, Henry? Did you see Emma in our house ? Her face, honey, did you see her face?”

Henry's excitement died a little when he shook his head no, and pouted cutely. “...but she was wearing the snowflake I gave to Santa! I'm not lying mommy. Swear...”

Regina knew that her son really believed what he was saying and shook her head. She had no idea what to make of it, but she would definitely be asking Emma Swan about this snowflake. With a tired sigh, Regina lifted Henry off the kitchen counter and set him down on his feet. “Sweetheart, go upstairs and get ready for bed. I'll be up to tuck you in, in a few minutes. Okay?”

Henry looked up at his mom, “Mommy,you believe me right?”

Regina bit the inside of her left cheek, staring down into those wide innocent brown eyes. “Yes sweetie I do, now go get ready for bed.”

Henry smiled and hugged Regina's legs before running out of the kitchen. Regina absolutely hated lying to her son but she wouldn't break his little heart by saying she didn’t believe a word he said either.

SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ

_**E. Swan Residence...2209 Ocean Parkway, Brooklyn New York...[ 7:22 pm]** _

Emma wasn't so lucky to make inside of her house before the rain started pouring down. Because she left the supermarket a little later than Regina and her son did, the rain caught her in the supermarkets parking lot.

Thankfully her car had pure leather seats and came equipped with all weather floor mats. She had her seat warmers on along with the heat. It helped her stay warm but her clothes were stuck uncomfortably to her skin and it made the blonde feel itchy all over, like something was crawling all over her skin.

By the time Emma got inside of her home with all of her groceries, she looked like a drowned street cat. Thankfully Emma's live-in housekeeper, Johanna, was always one step ahead of Emma. Johanna had a fluffy navy blue towel ready, along with Emma's black silk robe.

Johanna shook her head, somewhat amused at Emma's helpless appearance. “I had the towel in the dryer for you, but it looks like you're already getting sick. Get out of those clothes before you catch hypothermia!”

Johanna set the towel and robe down on the table in the foyer, and grabbed the small amount of groceries to take to the kitchen while Emma began getting undressed as fast as she could, starting with ankle high leather boots.

Emma had taken her own wet clothes into the laundry room now in her robe that stopped mid-thigh with the towel hanging around her neck. She used magic to clean up the wet spot on the floor in foyer simple because she was too lazy to do it herself. She went into the kitchen with Johanna and sat at the counter, waving her hand flippantly and two aspirins and a glass of water appeared in front of her instantly.

“Any new reports come in from the station today?”

Johanna shook her head, throwing away the last wet plastic bag and drying her hands on the green kitchen towel. “Leroy called about two hours ago, the sleigh is back in working condition but you’ll need to go up there sometime this month to make sure it's to your liking.”

Emma tiredly started to rub her reddening eyes, trying and failing to stifle a yawn. “Something is always wrong with that damned thing. I think it's time for a new one, don't you think Jo?”

“What I think,” Johanna drawled, reaching into the cupboard to pull out a mug for her nightly tea, “is that you had better call your grandmother back. Not tomorrow, not after you shower... _now._ She didn’t sound too happy over the the phone this morning.”

Emma groaned and really wanted to face plant into the counter, Granny called her office this morning but Emma was busy catching up on proposals and trying to organize her schedule for the rest of the year. She got up from the bar stool with a sheepish smile, “I promise I will call her...tomorrow. I'm going to shower and go to bed, I feel weird. Goodnight Jo.”

Emma transported out of the kitchen before Johanna could get another word in. The older woman sighed and shook her head, she hated when Emma did that...it was so rude and it was so Emma Swan. Johanna wasn't about to go chasing after Emma to call Eugenia back, that was between those two...she was simply the messenger.

SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ

_**E. Swan Residence...2209 Ocean Parkway, Brooklyn New York...[10:22 am]** _

Emma sat in her home office goofing off on the internet watching cat videos. One wouldn't think this was an office considering the large screen TV mounted on the far wall between two large Wonder Woman framed posters. Her office literally had comics everywhere from the floor, to the coffee table and lodge in some corner behind her files in a drawer in her desk. If it wasn't for the desk being in there and the file cabinets behind it, this would not be labeled as an office at first glance.

Emma didn’t feel well enough to go to the office, that and she was probably contagious by now, but she was well enough to give Johanna a difficult time this morning. The older woman was trying to wake Emma up for breakfast but it had taken forever, and by the time Emma was awake...the eggs were cold, and the biscuits were no longer warm and fluffy. To make it up to Johanna, Emma gave the woman keys to some car sitting in her garage, her credit card and told her not to come back home until dinner, which was going to be pizza and wings. Of course Johanna managed to remind Emma to call Granny back, and of course...Emma was stalling because she knew what the woman wanted and Emma 'forgetting' to call back was the blondes way of saying no.

The office phone rang for the third time that morning and Emma sighed, mildly annoyed. “Can I watch cat videos in peace?” She checked the caller ID and noticed that it was a local office number, one she didn’t really recognize. She tipped her chair back slightly to snatch the phone off the receiver before it rang the third time. “Arendelle International Stock and Trade, Emma Swan speaking.”

“ _Good morning Ms. Swan.”_

Emma immediately, and unnecessarily, straightened up and paused the funny cat compilation. “Mayor Mills, what can I do for you this rainy morning?”

“ _Your secretary informed me that you have taken the day off, so this will not take long.”_ Regina paused, but Emma said nothing so she continued before the silence became awkward. _“This call may seem a little strange but please, bear with me.”_

Emma's curiosity was piqued even though she had an inkling as to where this was going. “Okay, I'm listening...?”

Regina took soft deep breath, _“Ms. Swan, my son seems alarmingly convinced that you of all people, no offense, are Santa Claus. And that's not even half of it.”_

Emma bit her bottom lip, rocking back in her leather chair. She was hoping that Henry would forget all about seeing her necklace but of course that was wishful thinking on part. The boy was her truest believer...he wasn't going to forget the gift gave her or not recognize it when he saw it. “Not sure if I really want to know what else your son has said...but I'm going to ask anyway, what is the other half?”

“ _He seems to think that you’ve been in our home...several times on Christmas Eve. So now I must ask; in the past two years have you done any charity work dressed as Santa Claus on TV or around Brooklyn?”_ Regina's tone wasn't accusatory, but she simply sounded like a concerned mother trying to get to the bottom of her son's seemingly wild imagination.

 _Brooklyn, hm?_ Emma found it interesting that Regina would mention Brooklyn specifically. Brooklyn was popular, obviously but for a woman of Regina Mills' stature...mentioning Brooklyn was very revealing. Of course Emma was already aware of the Mills family location, a few blocks from her own estate but then again...that was her job. Memorize millions and millions of addresses (with the help of a little magic)leave the station at ten at night and beat the midnight deadline. Then Google maps was invented, but that was besides the point.

“Er, I...” Emma paused and stared at the unsigned paper work on her desk. She knew she a lie, or several, would be necessary but her gut was telling her to stretch the truth—Emma ignored her gut despite it never being wrong before. “I don't recall ever doing anything _that_ elaborate Madam Mayor. The most I've done is donate large amounts of money to the unfortunate. I hope me talking to Henry last night didn’t start any trouble with his imagination?”

“ _Not at all Ms. Swan, I simply had to check to make sure he wasn't making up these...wild stories of his. I was hoping that it wasn't just a figment of his imagination but it appears that I was wrong.”_

Emma nodded her head, hoping she didn’t just put that poor kid in the nut-house. “I understand Mayor Mills, but I feel like some of this may be my fault...for egging him on last night.” There was no real or better explanation Emma could offer as proof to back up that statement...none that she was willing to give up. “I'm human, not some jolly fat man breaking into peoples houses all around the world.”

“ _Of course not dear, my apologies for this ridiculous phone call...I trust that you know what the term 'discretion' means, correct?”_

For someone who means no offense, Regina is very offensive this morning Emma mused mildly amused. “This conversation never happened. You have a wonderful day Madam Mayor, and I'll be seeing you at the city council meeting Tuesday evening.”

“ _Come prepared dear and do not be late. Arrive thirty minutes early so that we may discuss our notes and solutions. Does that work for you?”_

Emma shrugged even though Regina couldn't see it, “I'll get there when I get there. I'm the financial adviser Mayor, can't start without me. See you Tuesday.” Emma put the phone back on the receiver, laughing giddily. She was New York's new financial head adviser as of last month, the previous adviser had a heart attack and Emma was anonymously voted to replace him. Of course that still required the Mayors approval, which meant that Emma was probably alright in Regina's books...but it didn’t mean that she couldn't mess with her a little. Emma was about to continue with her funny cat videos when the phone rang again, thinking it was Regina again Emma snatched the phone off the receiver again without checking the caller ID.

“Arendelle International Stock and Trade, Emma Swan speaking.”

“ _What happened to calling me back, hmm?!”_

**SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ**

**SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ**

  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the kudos, and stopping in to read! Next chapter we will get to see Emma and Regina side by side through half the chapter and why Emma is avoiding Granny like the plague.
> 
>  
> 
> MonsterGalore


	4. Fulfilling A Wish

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own OUAT.

**SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ**

**SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ**

_**John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York [Monday, January 12 th..10:02 am]** _

Emma glanced down at her wrist for what seemed like the hundredth time to check the time.  _ Of course the flight was late. _ She had better things to do than to be sitting in a crowded terminal pretending not to notice two reporters sitting a few rows away from her. Of course being New York's new financial adviser, she was bound to be followed every now and then...but it was starting to get annoying. The reporters were looking for a scandal, ''the big scoop'' on New York's richest bachelorette who has seemed to wiggle her way into the city politics. The latest article about her being appointed as the new head financial adviser was...unflattering,  _ “Why can't the rich just be rich and invisible?”,  _ Emma found it amusing honestly. If only they knew how much she knew about the political cat and mouse game—being as old as she is, one would dare say Emma created the game herself.

The terminal door opening caught her attention, she wasn't even aware that the plane landed....Emma remained seated but kept her eyes on the door, watching various people exit the terminal either distracted by their smart phones, or looking around for a familiar face. Emma exhaled slowly when a tall brunette walked out and stopped next to ticket desk and took a deep breath right before those clear green eyes met Emma's almost immediately.

Emma rose from her own little plastic seat as her long time friend weaved through the crowd of people that were packing up and getting ready to board their flight. Emma found herself slightly off balance when the brunette pulled her into a hug and nearly leaned all of her weight onto the blonde.

“Ruby,” despite her annoyance of this situation, Emma was happy to see her best friend again. It had been entirely too long, she realized. “It's good to see you...”

Ruby hugged Emma closer as she buried her nose in Emma's princess curled hair. “I've missed you my friend...you know if Granny was able to come, she'd be kicking your ass right now as I should be.”

Chuckling Emma pulled away from the hug and crossed her arms across her chest, “I missed you too Ruby but the last thing I want and need is for you and Granny to hover over me like I'm a child.”

Ruby frowned and Emma knew what she said was a little insensitive but she didn’t exactly care at the moment, she was not going to be treated like some sort of last edition antique—even if she was figuratively speaking. “Emma...You won't live under the protection of the station, so we're just worried about you.”

Emma was suddenly reminded that they were still standing in the middle of the busy terminal with two reporters watching them not too far away—this was definitely not the time or place to have this discussion.

“Did you have anything else besides the backpack?”

Ruby shook her head, “I packed light.”

Emma nodded, looking sideways briefly at the reporters who edged closer to hear what was being said between them—so she decided to throw them a bone that would benefit her in the long run. “That's fine, as your new employer I'll supply you a credit card and you can go shopping. I can't have my body guard wearing the same shirt every other week, come along.”

Ruby stared after the blonde that brushed past her before following after her. Ruby was surprised how fast Emma could move in four inch stilettos especially with the throngs of people everywhere. “Wow Em, you really have this rich thing down don't you? I almost believed you back there...”

Emma looked over her shoulder as they finally walked outside, “I was being serious Ruby, you're my new bodyguard...you and Granny insist that I'm being hunted so be my bodyguard. That way if I'm truly being hunted by... _ them,  _ you’ll be there to save the day.”

Ruby looked at her friend, not appreciating that Emma was making light of the fact that her life may be in danger but the seasoned wolf held her tongue—for now.

SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ

_**E. Swan Residence... 2209 Ocean Parkway, Brooklyn, New York...[Tuesday, January 13 th..4:36 pm]** _

Emma walked into her garage quickly as she slipped on her dark red scarf and fluffed her princess curls out of her turtle neck. Emma carried her black pumps in her hand that also held tight to her Armani brief case. Emma looked as if she just plucked her outfit right out of a fall fashion catalog. Ruby was close behind her wearing a pair of denim jeans with her new black calve high boots with platinum buckles and zippers. Ruby's burgundy polo shirt fit her torso like a glove and complimented the gun sitting on her right hip.

She and Emma argued about her buying the gun all last night until Johanna finally intervened between the sorceress and the werewolf—the gun stayed. Emma had to admit that Ruby looked good as her body guard but she'd be lying if she said she wasn't worried about hot the press will eat her alive about allowing Ruby to carry a gun.

“Never really took you for a politician...” Ruby attempted to start a conversation with Emma as the blonde maneuvered her canary yellow Ferrari LaFerrari out onto the street and floor it.

Emma shrugged, glancing at her best friend. “It's not my favorite thing in the world...no.”

“So why are you doing this? Are you bored or something?”

“Something like that...” Emma sighed as she checked the time on her watch—she wasn't late but she wasn't exactly on time either.

Ruby frowned, not satisfied with that answer. “Emma please don't lie to me... I thought we had more than that...first you're refusing to come back to the station for your cool down period, then you're ignoring Granny's calls...now you're lying to me? Emma...What's going on with you?”

Emma wondered if telling Ruby she was fulfilling a wish would be such a good idea—the wolf thought it was necessary to carry a gun after all. “Promise not to breath a word of this to Granny?”

Ruby hesitated for a moment before agreeing with a quick nod. “Yeah Em, now tell me what's up.”

“I'm fulfilling a wish.”

Silence except for the loud purr of the Ferrari's engine as Emma expertly moved in and out of traffic. “You're what?” Ruby deadpanned.

“Ruby...I did a memory sweep this time.” _Kinda..._ Emma kept that thought to herself, “He doesn't remember who I am...” _Not really... “_ It's not going to end up like last time...”

Ruby laughed humorlessly, “Oh man Em, are you serious? How could you do this after last time? I...we almost lost you!”

Emma swallowed thickly, “It was five decades ago Ruby, I'm over it and you should be too. Yeah, it was a close call but I'm still here and I learned my lesson.”

“How old is he?”

“Will be five in a few months...his mother is the Mayor of New York.”

“What did he wish for?”

Emma shrugged as she exited the freeway, not bothering to ease up on the accelerator. “He wants his mother to be happy and to be loved. His heart is pure Ruby...he's my truest believer...I couldn't tell him no. He even gave me a present...” Emma couldn't pull out her necklace at the moment with the thick layer of clothing she wore but she wanted her friend to know because...in all her years, Henry was the first person in _decades_ to give her something straight from the heart. She was proud to call him her truest believer...and maybe, just maybe he can be her little helper this year. _Stop._ Those were dangerous thoughts and Emma quickly shoved them away.

Ruby stayed quiet the rest of the drive to City Hall because she didn’t know what else she could say. Emma was fulfilling a wish and she couldn't take back her word as it was against the rules. The most Ruby could do was have Santa's back and hope things went better than last time.

SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ

_**City Hall, New York City... New York, New York...[4:59 pm]** _

Before word of Emma Swan's 'promotion' as New York's lead financial adviser, press vultures were only there because their bosses told them to be there to cover the Mayor. Emma Swan wasn't a politician, not a known politician that is—she was considered a woman with extreme wealth that had too many men and women on her arm to be healthy at nearly every fashion and art Gala in New York and Europe.

The canary yellow Ferrari LaFerrari didn’t help either. Thankfully there was security at the entrance of the parking garage with strict instructions to keep the press at bay.

“Is your life always this exciting?” Ruby asked more curious than anything as they stepped off the elevator, following Emma through the semi-crowded halls to the Council Chambers.

“More or less, yeah. The joys of being Santa after hours.” Emma shrugged as she walked through the open double doors (the doors council members _weren’t_ supposed to use as an entrance). Ignoring the Mayor's disapproving frown, Emma made her way to her seat to the right of Regina's while Ruby took the chair provided behind Emma's and right next to a brunette who didn’t spare Ruby a glance.

“Ms. Swan, you're late.” Regardless of the bustling noise in front of them and Regina's quiet voice, Emma still heard her.

Emma chuckled softly, “Traffic Mayor Mills. Don't worry so much, I have everything ready.” Emma took out her own pen and planner, as well as her  _Ipad Pro_ . She pulled out her flash-drive and turned to hand it to Belle, then suddenly remembered to introduce her best friend to her best personal assistant. “Oh right, Belle this is Ruby my best friend and body guard. Ruby this is Belle French, the best assistant I've ever met...and I've met a few.”

Ruby scoffed, “You've been around a while Em, you’ve met more than 'a few'.”

Emma laughed again but it wasn't as smooth as it was the first time, and Ruby suddenly caught on that  _she_ had slipped. After all the nagging she has been dishing out on the blonde,  _she_ slipped but she followed Emma's lead and just laughed, acting as if it was some kind of inside joke. Regina and Belle shared a confused look but neither got a chance to comment, the double doors shut loudly and the noise began to die down. 

Regina stood from her seat sporting her best political smile, “Good evening ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for coming out and joining us in helping New York become even bigger and better than it was the previous year. Those who are not aware, Edgar Smith the previous financial adviser suffered a near fatal heart attack shortly after our last meeting in December.”

Regina paused and glanced down at Emma, rather appalled that the blonde was playing angry birds on her Ipad but the brunette schooled her features before facing the crowd once more, “I'm happy to introduce our adviser who will be solely focusing on the budget and taxes of New York... Emma Swan.”

Emma slipped off her coat as she rose from her seat gracefully, but left on her red scarf. Green eyes took in the people occupying nearly all the seats of the chamber room and then she just smiled, “Hi. Um, yeah...some of you may know me some of you don't. To those who don't, I'm the CEO of Arendelle International Stock and Trade. I work with numbers, and I'm exceptionally good at my job.” As Emma was talking, Regina took a moment to subtly study the blonde. She had to admit that Emma may be a bit unorthodox in terms of rules policies but the woman could dress and the slacks she wore outlined her ass perfectly. Regina cleared her throat softly and looked away before her observation turned into ogling and that's the last thing she needed to be doing with the press sitting in the first two rows.

A reporter in the front row stood not even bothering to raise his hand, “Ms. Swan, you're not exactly known for your politics...is this a publicity stunt to bring more business to Arendelle Stock and Trade?”

Emma shrugged nonchalantly, “I was elected for this position as I'm sure you all know. I won't stand here and lie to you, business has been booming.” Ruby chuckled, leave it to Emma to make a joke during a serious situation.

The reporter didn’t even crack a smile, “So you're not denying that this is a publicity stunt to promote your company?”

Arendelle's CEO plopped back down in her chair with a loud sigh, “Whatever helps you keep your job man.” Emma rolled her eyes before she could stop herself, and Regina resisted the urge to jump out of her chair to tackle Emma and strangle her. She had completely forgotten how horrible Emma could be with the press—not that she stalked the woman, Emma was just known to have little to no etiquette when it came to dealing with the media.

Regina remained seated as she reached forward and brought the small microphone closer, chuckling tersely and avoiding the looks from the other council members. “I believe Ms. Swan is attempting to put an end to your nettlesome questions and I, for one,agree. Now...”

And with Regina and Emma sitting side by side, that is how the rest of city council meeting went on with the citizens and reporters alike expressing concerns about the upcoming crime rates to the 'cracked out prostitutes and homeless bums on every corner'. They were concerned about their children's safety and the graffiti and speeding in the neighborhoods. Of course the police Commissioner, Albert Spencer, promised two-hundred more foot officers to patrol the streets of New York, while August W. Booth, whose job Emma was still unsure of, promised the people that he and the Mayor were in the midst of making plans for recreational centers around the city near schools for that had after school programs and paid meals.

The entire meeting Emma hadn’t said a word—she didn’t even make an effort, she just continued to sit there and observe...like she always did. Well until a citizen who had been similarly observing everything quietly—particularly Emma, decided to walk up to the microphone in one of the aisles.

“Ms. Swan, I couldn't help but notice how quiet you’ve been this entire meeting...don't you have anything to say considering you're the biggest key to making all of this happen?” _That_ caught people's attention and all eyes were on the blonde executive. Regina, for her part, was ignoring the fact that Emma was sitting next to her fiddling around with her tablet out of the audiences and other council members sight because she knew of Emma's budget plan...and agreed with it.

Emma paused her _Angry Birds 2_ game and smiled at the woman, Regina couldn't tell if that smile was genuine or not-- Emma's politician smile might have been better than her own. _Maybe._ “Of course I have a lot to say, I was simply allowing my fellow council members to have their say first.”

Commissioner Spencer grunted and crossed his arms, “Is that right? Well then is there anything _you'd_ like to add Swan?”

“Hmm.” Emma shook her head, looking down at him from her seat a row above his own. “Nah, you guys have it covered.” Regina cringed, would it kill Emma to _stop_ reminding everyone just how _young_ she _possibly_ was.

The woman in the audience wasn't done questioning Emma and butted in before the Commissioner could taunt the blonde again, “Let me ask you this Ms. Swan. Does all of this fit the budget?”

“Well...” Emma tipped her chair back much to the Mayor's irritation and Belle and Ruby's amusement. “Assuming that you're talking about Edgar Smith's adopted budget—then no. None of this would fit into Mr. Smith's budget. You all want roads fixed, more cops, places for your kids to go after school, more shelters and or community houses for the homeless...new buildings...and then some. You want a lot, but with the adopted budget...you won't see any of it.”

“So I take that you have you're own little fancy Wall Street plan? Do we have to buy stocks too?” Albert mocked with a smirk.

“Commissioner, I would expect you of all people to show a little more professional.” Regina glared down at him, unamused.

Emma shook her head, “It's alright Mayor Mills, he couldn't afford my stocks if I gave him a 10% discount.” Belle snorted behind them, mumbling her agreements. Albert shifted uncomfortably in his chair, red faced. “Anyway....what was I saying?”

“Edgar's adopted budget.” Belle offered helpfully as she began setting up Emma's presentation on the big screen behind them that consisted of two slides...the first with Edgar's budget plan, and the second with Emma's budget plan.

“Oh yeah, budget plans. Uh, so yeah...that's Edgar's plan.” Emma waved her hand flippantly and shrugged, Belle took that cue to switch the slide to Emma's plan. “And this is mine.”

Regina tilted her head back curiously, “And just what are we looking at Ms. Swan?”

“Yes. Not all of us can read financial reports like it's a Dr. Seuss book.” Tamara Flynn, head economic developer, added sarcastically.

Emma took a deep breath, trying to bite her tongue. she had better things to do than this. She was still feeling under the weather and all she wanted to do was lay in bed buck naked watching cartoons on Netflix with a few comic books scattered around. But no...she was in Lower Manhattan putting on her executive face and playing politician. If she hadn’t given her word to little Henry Mills... Emma would have blown this off like everything else, but she needed to get closer to Regina Mills. Perhaps a small part of her _wanted_ to as well—and not just for Henry's sake.

“I got rid of New York's adopted budget...and created an executive budget.”

“And just how much would this executive budget entail?” Duke Weselton inquired with a snide sneer.

Emma bit her pink bottom lip gently, then decided she had better things to do than to pitch a perfect well thought out budget plan to a room full of tabloid reporters and sexists. She picked up her tablet once more and sent the Blue Bird Trio to their deaths. “75 billion.”

SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ

“That could have went better.” Emma chuckled as she settled into the stuffy leather chair in front of Regina's desk, “Who knew Duke Weselton and the Commissioner were sexists.”

“Your sarcasm is noted but unwanted Ms. Swan. That was a complete mess out there—what happened to the presentation? You were acting like a child—and I looked like the idiot who gave you free reign to every bank in New York City.”

“You did, but you're certainly no idiot and I'm not a child Mayor Mills. Those men weren’t going to listen to the presentation..they were gonna nit pick at everything. So I got to the point.”

“I needed you to show them that you could handle that massive amount of money, not piss them off and worry them. Do you have any--”

“Do you trust me?”

“Excuse me?” Regina was already irritated and Emma cutting her off wasn't helping matters—or putting points in her favor what so ever.

Emma cleared her throat, straightening her posture in the chair. “Do you trust me to handle this job? I don't care what everyone else thinks...but as long as you trust me to do this, I swear to you—I won't let you down.”

Regina stared at the blonde curiously, those verdant eyes were so calculating and determined yet Regina could see a layer of sincerity. Regina rubbed her eyes tiredly, “I don't really have a choice do I Ms. Swan? This is your budget and as of right now, you're the only person I know...and trust to handle that large amount of currency responsibly. But know this...” Regina looked back at Emma who was still watching her intently, “I will expecting weekly reports from you. Every Thursday—not Wednesday, not Friday but Thursday.”

Emma smiled, “Fair enough Mayor Mills.” they both knew that one Regina signed off on the budget approval, it wasn't necessary for Emma to have reports for Regina every week but for the sake of getting closer to the brunette—Emma would take what she could get. “Thursdays are my Major meeting days...would you mind if we discussed these reports over dinner or drinks—or both?” Emma swallowed nervously, she wasn't sure if she was pushing too soon but a year can fly by very fast and the last thing she wanted to do was fail at making Regina happy. In order to do it—she needed to get to know the one behind the suits.

Regina thought over it for a moment...she got off late on Thursday's as well—so late she had to hire a weekday nanny to pick up her son from school, but what was another hour or two? When was the last time she even had a drink with another adult? Even though Emma was technically a colleague Regina knew the young executive wouldn't be analyzing her every word and move like so many do, judging her. “That will be fine, dear.”

Emma's irritatingly, but adorable, grin was back. “So I guess I'll see you Thursday then? I'll have Belle call your secretary with a time and place, cool?”

Regina nodded, rising from her chair and Emma followed suit. “Until Thursday Ms. Swan oh and do keep your 'bodyguard' at home.”

“I'll make sure she keeps her distance.” Emma winked playfully and Regina had the sudden urge to voice that she wasn't jealous but if she did that, she'd only look guilty. “Later Madam Mayor.”

The Mayor of New York watch the taller woman saunter out of her office and she had to admit, Emma had a lovely backside—her choice of clothing made sure to accentuate that fact. When the door finally closed behind her, Regina sank back down into her chair with a deep exhale. _What the hell was she about to get herself into?_

**SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ**

**SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ**

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wasn't over all satisfied with this one. But thanks for the kudos and comments y'all.
> 
> Monster Galore


	5. Just Another Day Being Santa

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hahaha I like how I start this story BEFORE Christmas...then leave it alone for Christmas then start back up AFTER Christmas...anyway, sorry I have been away for well over a month (I think?) I had some personal issues to deal with, and still dealing with but I'm back I guess...back on my writing grind, I had to reevaluate what I wanted to do with this story because I honestly forgot what the hell I wanted to do with this...so I took to pen and paper again and wrote it down, and I'll let you know at the end. Enjoy and hope you all had a wonderful X-Mas.

**SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ**

**SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ**

_**CEO E. Swans office, Wall Street New York...[Wednesday,January 21 st...10:21 am]** _

Emma has been on the phone all morning and her ear was redder than a tomato, and it didn’t help that everyone she had been talking to was a pig-headed male that thought they knew every damn thing and tried to counter everything she said. What was the point of calling Emma for advice if the plan was to try and undermine everything she said. Her way was much more simpler and faster—but the blonde executive figured that guy was just having a bad day. Which was why she hung up in his face with no regrets.

Emma had barely escaped into her secret office hideaway when her cell phone rang. She swore in her head as she flicked on the light to the small room that had a leather chair with a matching ottoman, a plasma TV sitting directly in front of it, a bathroom with a small shower stall, and a mini bar. Emma kicked off her high heels and tossed her phone into the chair making her way to the bar and fixing herself a drink. She didn’t care if it was 9 am or 7 pm...working on Wall Street, a drink was needed every two to three hours for her.

Turning on the TV to Spongebob Squarepants with the stock numbers sitting on the side of the screen, and headline news scrolling across the bottom of the screen. Her personal phone began to ring again and Emma decided to answer while kicking her feet up on the ottoman, “Hello?”

“ _Santa! Whew! Glad you picked up, we have a problem here at the station!”_ Leroy's gruff voice sounded panicked and relieved at the same time.

Emma rolled her eyes, there was _always_ a problem at the station. “What is it Leroy?”

“The shield generator blew out last night!”

Emma nearly knocked over her drink because she sat up so fast, “What?! How? Leroy why didn’t anyone call me last night?”

“Granny told us not to just in case it just needed more juice but we haven’t heard from Granny since she took one of the sleighs out to check on it.”

 _This_ was a big problem, Emma could admit. The station, or the North Pole as some know it best, wasn't just a work shop where toys are created and barn to house elves and reindeer with a cute little red gingerbread looking house half a mile away and that was it for Santa. Oh no. Emma has been around far longer than that, and the North Pole wasn't called a station for nothing. It was quite literally a small hidden city full of magic, joy and if _they_ managed to get the jump on Santa or her station, who knew what could happen— _“And I'm sending your sleigh out tonight for pick up..._ ”

Emma shook herself out of her thoughts and took a deep breath, “Leroy, calm down. Give Granny two more hours, and if she still doesn’t come back...summon me.”

“ _S-summon you? But you're out there with the humans, what if you're--”_

“Don't worry, I'll be alone for the few hours. Until then, shut the station down and keep an eye out.” Emma ended the call and stepped out of her hidden room, only to find that she had guests in her office...and she wasn't wearing shoes _and_ she was drinking alcohol.

“Ahem, Madam Mayor...what a...surprise?”

“Clearly.” Regina checked Emma up and down before she sat down, and Belle simply walked out of Emma's office with a small smirk—Ruby however stayed behind and was staring hard at Emma. It didn’t take a genius to know that the tall brunette heard the phone call and Emma was a little glad the Mayor was there because she didn’t want Ruby to hound her about the station's generator and Granny. Emma understood the magnitude of the situation going on down there but panicking and jumping head first into a situation was never safe... Emma decided she would panic if Leroy summoned her.

Emma gave Ruby a look that promised they could talk later, the wolf nodded and went into Emma's not so secret room anymore and closed the door. “So Mayor Mills, what's up?”

“'What's up' is my sons birthday coming up this weekend.”

“Dude is turning 5 already? That's awesome, but what does that have to do with me?”

“Well,” Regina shifted in her chair nervously fidgeting with her hands, “Henry isn’t one for big birthday parties...usually I just cook his favorite meal and we would watch movies all night, or I'd try to play video games with him.”

Emma nodded, not exactly sure where this was going. “I hear a but in there somewhere?”

“Yes well, he wants to invite you for whatever reason—no offense.”

Emma laughed lightly, “Sure...but why does he want me there? Kid hardly knows me.”

Regina shrugged, which was very much unlike her—and Emma liked it. She liked seeing Regina do un-Regina like things, it was refreshing. “I'm sure you and I both know the real answer to that, but for the sake of my own sanity—I'm just going to assume he wants to show you his toy collection. Here...he made this for you as well and made me promise to deliver it to you personally.”

Emma took the hand made invitation with a grand smile, feeling her heart swell even more with adoration for this kid. “Yeah I hear the Mayor doesn’t do anything but tell people what to do anyway...might as well run errands for her kid.”

Regina simply raised her eyebrow and when Emma's chuckle died away—Regina cracked a small smile. “Do you think you will be able to make it? Don't feel obligated to say—”

“Yeah, sure I'll be there. Saturday, noon sharp. Bring a shit load of gifts for a 5 year old. Check!”

“Firstly Ms. Swan, you will not use that sort of language around my son and secondly _one_ gift will be enough for him. He's received plenty this Christmas and gets enough through out the year.”

Emma shrugged, “Whatever you say Mayor Mills...you guys have a backyard right?”

“Yes..why?” Regina was confused, suspicious and worried all at once.

Emma smiled to herself, she already had the perfect gift for Henry and she couldn't wait to see his face when he saw it—but his mother on the other hand, she might kick Emma's ass but it would be well worth it. “Oh nothing just trying to figure out what I could get him...nothing to worry about Regina.”

Regina thought about correcting Emma but she stopped short—she had just invited this woman to her sons birthday party, something that has only just been a day for him and her...first name basis is now a given and the fact that Regina wasn't even remotely upset that Henry wanted Emma over covered that fact as well—she saved his orphanage _and_ put herself under a mild media fire to help Regina's campaign. First name basis in private was a well earned feat.

The only thing that bothered Regina was the fact that Henry still believed this woman was Santa Claus.

“I see.” Regina didn’t believe Emma for one second but now wasn't the time to pick the beautiful executives brain about it. _Beautiful?_ When the hell did she start using beautiful in the same sentence with Emma Swan? Regina would be the first to admit that the young (or older? No one knows) woman was very attractive for her age, whatever that might be, but this was a first for the Mayor—and she wasn't so sure she liked it. “Ahem, anyway Ms. Swan. Since I'm here, do you have those financial reports ready? Perhaps we can get it done today rather than tomorrow?”

If Emma was startled with the Mayor's sudden businesslike persona clicking back on, she hid it well. The brunette had been giving her a strange look just a few seconds ago before she snapped out of it, “Uh....kinda...I guess I don't know...”

“What the hell kind of answer is that? Either you do or you don't, which is it?” Regina snapped impatiently, she wanted to get the hell out of Emma's office so she could breathe.

Emma shrugged flippantly, “Hey, I have them up here...” Emma tapped her temple, “But I haven’t put anything on paper.”

Regina sighed, not all that surprised that Emma liked to do things at the last minute. “As long as they are prepared correctly tomorrow for our meeting, Ms. Swan.”

“Duh...I mean s-sure.” Emma quickly amended when Regina sent her a withering glare as she stood and collected her purse and coat.

Emma stood as well, and walked the Mayor to her office door but before she could open it Regina's soft hand rested over her own on the door knob. Emma looked down at the slightly shorter woman curiously, trying not to notice how far into each others personal space they were but they were so close Emma could see Regina's prominent lip scar and Regina could make out a pale jagged scar coming over Emma's neck from her back.

“Out of curiosity Ms. Swan, how old are you?”

Emma swallowed, and forced a smile on her face. “Why do you ask?”

Regina's eyebrows furrowed and she had yet to remove her hand from on top of Emma's, “You seem so young but yet—”

“I featured in Forbes four times? I'm just awesome like that, thank you.” Emma grinned and shrugged, seemingly shy. “But if I tell you, promise to keep it yourself?”

Regina nodded, hand tightening over Emma's. “Yes of course.”

“I'm—”

Ruby came charging into the room, “Emma, Leroy called... Granny and everything else is okay.”

Regina was annoyed that Ruby chose _that_ particular moment to remind them that they weren’t alone in the office to tell Emma about who the hell knows what, and she couldn't help but notice how relaxed Emma became a few inches from her.

“That's...that's good...great actually.” Emma's smile was so radiant and relieved Regina felt like she could have been blinded by it if possible, “Um...anyway, I guess I'll see you tomorrow evening Regina. Okay?”

“Yes Ms. Swan. Same time and place?”

“Always.”

Emma turned the door knob beneath their hands and gently opened the door, carefully not to knock Regina over with the heavy wood door. The Mayor officially hated that brunette that followed Emma around like a puppy, and that smirk she saw as she walked out the door angered Regina and she could feel her alter ego waking up but she reeled it in the best she could—for now. Head held high, Regina walked out of the Arendelle building feeling good. She just knew Henry would be ecstatic when he found out Emma said yes. And if she were being completely honest...she was happy she said yes as well.

**SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ**

  **SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First, how old do you guys think Emma is? Lol, I already know I'm just curious...
> 
> Second, I was going for a hallmark story here but seriously...have you guys read my works or read any of my A/N's...I couldn't do hallmark stories if I tried, I'd rather be a stripper named Cinnamon. Anyway, I decided to go dramatic and adorable...so something terrible will happen but to who and how, you'll have to find out. But just know Santa will have a bigger role than she does now.
> 
> More updates later this week, this is just the first one I happened to finish lol.
> 
> MG


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So seeing that this is a total Hallmark story, so AU of me...and you guys seem to LIKE it like this, I decided to keep the bad juju shit down to a minimal lol. Enjoy!

**SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ**

**SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ**

_**E. Swan residence...2209 Ocean Parkway, Brooklyn, New York...[Saturday, January 24 th ...11:31 am]** _

Emma checked the mirror again, sighing uncertainly. She turned to look at Ruby who was watching her like a hawk with an annoyed look on her face. Emma ignored it and pointed to her simple and casual clothes, “Well?”

“I don't understand why I have to stay here.” the wolf protested for the third time that morning and she was starting to irritate Emma.

“Because it's a birthday party for a 5 year old, not a meeting in a public place. I'll be fine Ruby, calm down. Johanna is looking forward to your company today, so suck it up.”

“Is it because she told you not to? Emma you're going to put yourself in a dangerous situation behind this woman and her kid. I understand that you gave your word but—”

“If you understood Ruby, you’d stop questioning my judgment. Now how do I look?”

Ruby barely checked Emma's outfit, she had been watching her all morning and approved of this outfit but she wasn't going to tell Emma that. “I'm here to protect you Emma at all times, not when you want me to. I'm going.”

Emma grabbed her red scarf, “Goddamn it Ruby! If I have to limit your wolf to this house, I _will._ ” Emma was fed up with Ruby's jealous streak, and she was serious about keeping Ruby locked inside of the house using magic if it came down to it...and they were nearly there. Before the executive had time to brace herself, Ruby was on her in a split second pushing her up against the wall, their noses inches apart. They stared each other in the eyes for a long minute before their mouths met in a heated angry kiss. Emma almost lost herself in Ruby essence due to her close proximity and the wolf's pheromones were strong and overwhelming but Emma was stronger. She turned her head to break the kiss but Ruby's mouth latched onto her sweet spot just behind her ear and Emma couldn't stop the moan from escaping. _“Shit...”_

Ruby reached down and lifted one of Emma's legs around her waist and pressed their bodies closer together, and Emma felt how turned on Ruby was but she didn’t want this...not anymore. And she was late. Emma transported herself to the other side of the room, using magic to make her self presentable again. Ruby fell forward but caught herself with her hands, her breathing was ragged and she was disappointed and angry with Emma. She looked over her shoulder with a sad smile, and Santa returned it.

“Emma, why won't you give us another chance? Why won't you give _me_ another chance?”

“Because I'm all out of chances to give you Ruby.” Emma waved her hand flippantly, and Ruby felt herself grow heavier and she suddenly had no desire to follow Emma to the Mayor's house anymore.

Ruby growled low in her throat when she realized what Emma had done, “But you're willing to give her a chance...aren't you?”

Emma took a deep breath and checked her watch. _11: 50._ “I deserve to be happy too Ruby.”

Emma walked out of the room and went down to the garage, wiping her eyes.

SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ

_**Mayor Mills Manor... 2108 Mifflin Ave, Brooklyn, New York...[12:00 pm]** _

Emma was surprised that Regina was really serious about Henry not having anyone over for his birthday. She's been around kids enough to know that around noon or so, a house would be over run with wild little people running around with cake all over their faces but not the Mills manor. It was quiet as a mouse and Emma truly felt bad for Henry. She reached in the backseat of her SUV and got his presents from the backseat.

Regina probably wasn't going to like the fact that Emma got Henry more than one thing for his birthday, but she was Santa—it was her job to give more than one present. Emma didn’t even have to knock on the front door because Henry and Regina were already standing there waiting for her, and Emma was glad she went with casual because this was the most laid back she's ever seen the Mayor and she felt privileged.

“Hi Emma!” Henry waved excitedly, eyes glued to the wrapped gifts in her arms.

“Hey big man, I heard it was someone's birthday but I forgot who...hmm.” Emma stopped on the welcome mat, pretending to think really hard about it and she got her desired reaction from Henry—another laugh and surprisingly one from Regina as well.

“It's mine silly!”

“Oh right! Happy birthday kid.” Emma winked down at him but his eyes were back on the presents.

“Are those for me?”

Emma looked down at the wrapped goods in her arms, “They could be...can I come in? I remember you promising to show me a certain toy collection?”

Henry looked up at his mom, remembering their talk last time and she nodded with a small but genuine smile, “Go ahead, Henry.”

“Come on in Santa!”

_Well shit._ Emma thought, but she didn’t want things to get awkward on the kids birthday and smiled down at him the best she could. “Thanks kid, but please...that's a secret, can you just call me Emma?”

Henry nodded eagerly, making a zipping motion across his lips. “I promise!”

SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ

“That's quite the collection you have kiddo, I didn’t know you were such a big fan of Pokemon and Dragon Ball Z.”

Regina sat down on the sofa next to Emma, handing the woman a new glass of apple cider than Emma seemed quite fond of. The entire afternoon, Regina had been quietly observing Emma and Henry—she would be the first to admit that Emma Swan had a golden touch when it came to children. Especially her son, Henry hardly opened up to anyone like this except to her and his school teacher, Ms. Belle. It was nice to see him smile and talk to someone who understood cartoons and comics and Emma was so patient with him.

Regina may have had her doubts earlier, but Emma Swan was knocking them out of the park by the minute. However, Regina also noticed something else...this was Emma's fifth glass of cider and she seemed perfectly fine. Many people have had the privilege to taste her apple cider, and many of them could hardly get to a second glass—add that to her observations of Emma's bar in her office and her _always_ having a drink in her hand whenever she visited. Regina suspected that Emma was an alcoholic. A well disguised one at that.

“Can I open my presents now mommy?”

“Yes sweetheart go ahead, and make sure you remember your manners young man.”

“Yes ma’am.” Henry picked up the first present because it was smaller and way at the top of the four neatly stacked gifts on the coffee table. Henry tore it apart and opened the box, eyes going wide. “Whoa.”

Regina leaned forward and Emma continued to sip her drink with a smirk, “What did you get dear?”

Henry picked up the fourth dragon ball and held it for his mom to see, “Whoa.”

“Whoa indeed.” Regina matched his expression even though she had absolutely no idea what the hell it was exactly, “Why don't you open your other gifts and see what else Ms.... _Emma_ brought you.”

As Henry opened the rest of his gifts, which were really just graphic tee-shirts of his favorite action heroes and cool looking dinosaur Rex pajama set, Emma looked at Regina with a raised eyebrow. “First name basis. Wow. We must be friends.”

“I've invited you into my home, fed you and entertained you. I'd say we are friendly.”

Emma laughed, “Friendly? C'mon Regina, we're friends! The faster you admit it, the easier the year will be for us.”

“Is that a threat, Swan?” the Mayor teased, eyes on her son struggling to get the top off the biggest and last present.

“Nah, just a fact.” out of Regina's sight, she lifted her index finger to help the kid out and the top came right on off and the rest of the box fell away perfectly. Henry sat there stunned at what was waiting for him, because it was practically his size! “Whoa!”

It was red RC Hummer with the biggest monster wheels he's ever seen on a remote controlled car. He shot off the floor and ran to give Emma the biggest hug he could give. He was whispered his gratitude over and over until he just got too excited and asked his mom if she could take it out in the backyard to play with it.

“And put your coat on!” Once he was out of earshot, Regina gave Emma a look. “Thank you.”

“He's a really cool kid Regina, I just don't understand why he doesn’t have friends. This is New York, everyone has at least one friend.”

Mayor Mills just rolled her shoulders, “I just hope that once he gets older, he'll make more friends...kids these days are meaner than what they used to be.”

Emma laughed without humor, thinking about all the snotty little brats she's had to deliver coal to. “Yeah, you definitely have a point there. Thankfully some do grow out of that phase...Henry is great Regina, you did a great job.”

“Thank you dear, it's hard. Being a single mother and managing this city at the same time.”

“Hm, yeah I bet.”

A comfortable silence fell between them, both brilliant minds thinking about their childhood and how simple it was back then compared to it is now. “You never answered my question Emma.”

The blonde executive hummed softly, meeting the Mayor's soft gaze. “What question was that?”

“Your age. You never told me.”

“Why is so important to you?”

“It's not, I'm just curious. I've already made the promise not to tell anyone, not it's time to keep your end of that bargain.”

Emma laughed lightly, and finished off her cider. “I'm 33 years old.”

Regina blinked then smiled wide, Emma looked damn good for her age. If only she knew. “Wow, you look very good for your age Emma.”

Emma blushed lightly, “Uh, thanks Regina. So do you.”

“So do I what?” Regina returned drily, giving Emma that look again but she wasn't being serious.

_Shit...uh.._ “I..no, I was saying you look good for your age too. You're 35 right? You look awesome.”

The Mayor smirked, finishing off her cider as well. “I know.”

“And so humble. No wonder—”

Heavy footfalls in the hallway cut her off and Henry ran into the room, crying and calling for his mother loudly. Regina set her class on the coffee table and gathered her son in her arms worriedly, “Baby why are you crying and please stop yelling, mommy can hear you just fine.”

But he wouldn't stop yelling and Emma thought he was getting louder and louder until Regina hugged him close and began humming, rocking back and forth. Emma got to her feet and went to the Regina’s kitchen and opened the backdoor and stepped onto the back porch. She saw the RC truck and remote sitting on the table across the yard under Regina's apple tree but as far as anything out of place, Emma didn’t see anything and she wasn't sure what the hell happened.

She was startled when the Mayor called her name and she rushed back to the living room, only to find that Regina was crying as well. _What the hell is going on here? I'm not gonna start crying to am I?_ “Regina? What's going on? I went out back to see what happened but I—”

“He can't hear.”

“What? What do you mean he can't hear?”

“He can't hear Swan!”

“Okay okay, I'm sorry I'm sorry uh....” Emma was having a massive brain fart...one minute the kid was fine and the next minute he can't hear? She didn’t understand how and why that happened.

“Oh god...”Henry whimpered in his mothers arms, and Regina took a shuddering deep breath. “I need to go to the hospital right now, I need to—”

“Take another deep breath and put your jacket on Regina, I'll drive you to there.”

Regina didn’t have any objections, her son came first and getting him help was her top priority right now. She ignored Emma's advice to grab her jacket and carried her son right out of the front door. Emma shook her head and grabbed the Mayor's jacket for her and grabbed her keys. She wasn't sure which key was the house key so she used magic to lock the front door, and got into her SUV. Regina and Henry were already in the backseat.

Emma knew a doctor that owed her several personal favors and that's exactly where she was going. With a final glance at the Mayor and her son in the backseat in her rear-view mirror, Emma pulled out her phone and put the truck in drive. Ruby was surely going to throw a fit because Emma was sure that she wasn't going home tonight.

**SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ**

**SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ**

  
  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That happened to my cousin...smh, crazy shit.
> 
> And Ruby...Ruby ain't gonna let Emma go without a fight it seems, but she has another thing coming if she thinks the Evil Queen is just gonna roll over and play dead huh? Lol, thanks for the love you guys.
> 
> Monster


	7. Favors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, happy reading.

**SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ**

**SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ**

_**Address unknown...Upper Manhattan, New York...[Saturday, January 24 th ...4:58 pm]** _

Emma Swan rolled her shoulders as she stood from her seat, popping her joints with a satisfied sigh. She had been waiting in the lobby for well over two hours now and she was starting to get anxious and annoyed. Anxious because she didn’t know what was going on with Henry and Regina had yet to come back down to inform her of anything, and annoyed because Ruby was blowing up her personal phone to the point of running down the damn battery.

The executive pulled out a half eaten Snickers bar from her pocket and polished it off to calm her nerves, but she shouldn't be nervous because this doctor was the absolute best...despite being banned from every medical facility from New York to Texas. Dr. Whale was a wizard who knew no bounds but Emma was certain he knew better than to mess with Emma or any guest she brought by to his private practice. Dr. Victor F. Whale legally owned a five story building that was decked out with the latest medical equipment, though his main income was treating injured sorcerers and sorceresses—very few humans crossed his path, and if they did they were under the strict protection of someone with great authority such as now.

Emma was leaning against the humming vending machine, looking out of the small window watching as people milled about, completely oblivious to everything around them. She often wondered what it would it would be like to be so oblivious to the normal things around her. Normal to her...strange to them.

The soft ding of the elevator caught Emma's attention and she turned around quickly, expecting to see Regina and Henry but it was only Dr. Whale. The bottle blonde man smiled at her, “Santa.”

“Doctor.” Emma greeted with a polite smile, “How are they?”

Dr. Whale's smile waned, “Mayor Mills isn’t taking this so well, they will both be down momentarily.”

“Alright but what about Henry? How is he? What the hell happened to him?”

“He's freaked out but he's calm.” Dr. whale held up his hand before Emma could fire off more questions, “The boy is suffering from Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss (SSHL)...unfortunately there is nothing I can possibly do to help him. It's a life long effect.”

“What about hearing aids or some kind of implant? You can't do anything?”

Dr. Whale shook his head solemnly, the same expression he used when Regina asked him the exact same thing ten minutes prior, “I'm afraid that won't help...this type of case is quite common but it's rare that some sort treatment is not needed. It's unfortunate but fortunately he won't need a speech therapist. Maybe a volume therapist.” Whale laughed but the dull joke fell on unamused ears. “Ahem, sorry. As I've told Mayor Mills, sign language is usually the common route victims of SSHL take when hearing aids and cochlear implants aren’t an option.”

“You didn’t call Henry a victim did you?”

“No.” He was lying, but Emma had more things to worry about than Whale's lack of empathy.

“What do I owe you for this...'favor'?”

“I'm taking a vacation in a couple of months back to the station to recharge...I want free access to your vault for an item of my choosing.”

Emma thought long and hard about that deal—she's been around for a well over a millennium, Whale could be in her catacomb for days. With a long drawn out breath, Emma nodded in agreement. “Fine, but you only get a day in there with an escort and _one_ item.”

Dr. Whale chuckled, “There's only one thing in there I want, just a matter of finding it.”

Emma started to ask him what he wanted but the elevator dinged right before the doors opened revealing the Mayor of New York carrying her slumbering son. It was obvious that Regina had been crying and Emma's heart went out to the woman and for Henry. Mother nature delivered the worst birthday present to the kindest little boy Emma's ever met. Dr. Whale quietly excused himself as Emma gathered Regina's coat and draped it over the brunette's shoulders.

Both women were quiet as Emma steered her massive SUV back to Brooklyn but the traffic on Grand Central Parkway was proving to turn a forty minute drive into something hellish. Regina was thankful that Emma valued her privacy and had tinted windows, she wasn't sure if she could deal with the paparazzi especially in slow moving traffic. She was sure headlines would soar if she was spotted with Emma Swan the city's controversial financial adviser outside of the office in casual clothing with her son sleeping peacefully in the backseat.

Regina sighed, exhausted. “You should have taken I-278. We could have avoided this mess.”

Though Regina's words were chastising her tone lacked the bite and Emma looked over at brunette with a contrite smile, “I know, I'm sorry. If I had magic, I'd just poof us back to Brooklyn.”

“There's no such thing as magic and even if it were, I doubt transportation would be called _poofing_ dear.” Regina scoffed and reclined her seat a bit, and Emma had to do a double take—she's never seen Regina _this_ relaxed in the short amount of time she's known the woman, the blonde just chalked it up to exhaustion. Emma offered no further comment and focused on driving, choosing to allow the woman to sleep—or so she thought. “I suppose Dr. bottle blonde told you that Henry has to learn sign language.” it wasn't a question.

“Yeah he did...and I guess by extension, you need to learn it too.”

Another heavy sigh from the Mayor, “As if I'm not stressed enough.”

“Well...” Emma shifted in her seat, turning down the A/C so Henry wouldn't freeze to death in the backseat, “Believe it or not Regina but I know American sign language... I can teach you both if you’d like? I mean you don't have to say yes or anything but I think it would be easier for him to learn with someone he already knows and trusts.”

Regina opened one eye, “You think Henry trusts you?”

Emma smiled softly, “I'd like to think so...I was invited to his birthday party. I can teach you both together and I can teach you whenever he isn’t around so you could practice together.”

Regina turned her head to look out the window, her mind wondering. Emma never ceased to amaze her with her never ending uncanny knowledge and thoughtfulness. “I would have never guessed you knew sign language.”

“I'm the CEO of the largest international stock company in existence Regina, I have to _at least_ be coherent in different languages...including sign language. I gotta warn you now...it's a pain in the ass to learn but the knowledge of a language that beautiful is worth the arthritis.”

Regina rolled her eyes, “Tell me something Ms. Swan...why are you so kind to my son and I? We haven’t done you any favors so why are you constantly—”

“Because I’m a nice person Regina.” Emma interrupted, shrugging nonchalantly, “Nice people do nice things for other nice people...even when they act like they're the Evil Queen. And before you even think about asking....you don't owe me anything.”

“I do Emma, I do. You may be infuriating at times but you helped me and my son when I couldn't. I owe you more than you think but I insist you let me cook you dinner one night.”

“Well if you insist.” Emma smirked playfully, she would admit that Regina's cooking was better than Johanna's by far (not that she would tell Johanna that) and a free meal from the Mills household was a meal she would not pass up for anything. “Now get some rest, we're going to be stuck in this mess for a while. You can figure everything out later.”

“Thank you Emma.” expressing genuine gratitude was strange for Regina as she often did not find herself in the position of offering such a treasure. But Emma was genuinely helping her and Henry and Regina couldn't bring it in herself to slight the blonde even in jest—at least not in this very moment.

“What are friends for Regina.”

_Friends._ Regina couldn't remember the last time she's ever called anyone a friend—all of her so called friends had betrayed her one way or another. She was aware that she was not an easy woman to love or to just deal with but...Emma made it look so easy, Emma made Regina feel—even for a moment—that maybe it wasn't _her_ that ran her friends off...that maybe they were just shitty people to begin with and were only her friends to gain social favor. Regina smiled tightly and closed her eyes, she would cherish having a friend in Emma Swan but she couldn't help but wait for the other shoe to drop—it was never far behind.

Emma got comfortable in her own seat and turned on the radio, making sure it wasn't too loud to wake up the two brunette's. Had Emma been paying more attention, she would have noticed a high definition camera lens poking out of a car just ahead a few lanes over.

SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ

_**Mayor Mills Manor...2108 Mifflin Ave, Brooklyn, New York...[6:49 pm]** _

Emma was a little surprised to see Robin at the gate considering she hasn’t seen him lately and there was another, unknown security guard manning the gate earlier. Emma assumed that Regina fired him, but clearly she was wrong. Emma rolled down the window when he stepped out of the small security booth.

“The Wall Street Leech, what are you doing here?”

Emma scratched her chin,smiling at him sweetly. “Just open the gate Sasquatch.”

Robin frowned, “The Mayor isn’t home Boss Hog, sorry you wasted your precious time driving here. Do you even pay for your own gas? Or do you own every gas station in New York? I'm”

Emma grinned but she was not amused, she was used to people judging her status and making assumptions about everything she did—but it didn’t mean she'd take it sitting down, especially from Robin Lochlyn. “Aren't you late to some Hunger Games convention or something? Open the goddamn gate.”

Robin crossed his arms across his broad chest, “I don't care who you think you are Leech, you're not on the Mayors guest list so you're not going in.”

“ _Enough!_ Both of you.” Regina's raspy but firm voice cut through the darkness of the SUV and Emma could tell Robin was startled to hear his boss. “Mr. Lochlyn I am sincerely disappointed in you and we _will_ have a little chat Monday morning. Now open the gate, and be sure to put Ms. Swan's name on the permanent party list. Am I clear?”

“Yes, Madam Mayor.” Robin's tone was polite but his cold gaze still lingered on the smug CEO. He went back into his security booth mumbling under his breath and opened the gate. Emma rolled up her window and crept along the drive way until she was parked directly in front the Mayor's front door.

Emma turned the truck off but neither of them said a word, Emma wasn't sure if there was anything she should be saying so she opted to just wait for Regina to gather her own thoughts—she didn’t have to wait long. “While I greatly appreciate everything you have done today Ms. Swan, I trust you understand the sensitivity of this situation correct?”

“Yep.”

Regina's eyes narrowed and Emma could feel the heat of them even though she couldn't see them that well. “I don't care what the press says about me, but I will not have my son become some kind of spectacle in the press to get to me!”

Without thinking, Emma reached over and placed her hand on top of the brunette's—selectively ignoring the immediate tension, “Regina...I understand, and I agree with you wholeheartedly. If the press catches wind of his situation, I promise you it won't be from me but...you have to be realistic here. He's going to be signing soon, and so are you. They're going to catch on sooner or later.”

Regina sighed and let her head fall back on the head rest, “I know that, but I just want time for Henry to adjust to this before it becomes a headline. _I_ need time to adjust.”

“I know.” Emma patted Regina's hand comfortingly before removing it, not wishing to make her uncomfortable. “But we're friends now right? I mean...I can help you and Henry. This isn’t going to stay a secret for long Regina, Henry goes to school remember and—”

“Don't you think I know all of this?!” Regina snapped, running both hands through her hair, “I don't need you to remind me of that Ms. Swan, I am the Mayor of this damn city.”

Emma held up both her hands in a placating manner, “Okay okay...chill. I was just saying...look...this is gonna be just as hard on him as it will you.”

“Oh god.” Regina's voice cracked as she tried to keep her tears at bay but they were falling anyway and Emma willed herself not to panic. “Ever since he could talk he'd always ask if I heard it...he'd say 'mommy did you hear?'...I never knew what he was talking but now—” Regina shook her head and looked at Emma, “I'm responsible for this. I should have been paying more attention to what he was saying and now he's going to suffer for my ignorance!”

Emma leaned over the console and pulled the Mayor into an awkward but tight hug, a hug that was slowly returned but just as tight. Emma rubbed the Mayor's back, “Regina...this not your fault, but Henry is going to need you to be his rock now more than ever—and if you'd allow it, I'd like to be in the kids corner too.”

Regina nodded against Emma's shoulder but she made no move to let go and Emma was willing to hold Regina forever if she could. “I think he'd like that Ms. Swan.”

“And what about you? Would you like that too Madam Mayor?”

“I wouldn't have a choice.” Regina responded sarcastically as she pulled back though she was close enough now, and Emma could see the mirth swimming in those beautiful brown eyes. They were inches apart from each other, just staring into each others eyes. Regina finally offered a soft smile, “I'd like that very much Ms. Swan.”

“Emma, Regina. My name is Emma, we're friends now. Would it kill you to stop calling me Ms. Swan? It's annoying as hell.”

Regina winked, “I know dear.” the brunette pulled herself completely out of Emma's embrace but her touch lingered a while longer before completely disappearing but Emma was sure that was just her imagination. She followed Regina out of her vehicle and walked the Mayor to the door, amazed that Henry was still asleep after all this time. Emma shoved her hands into the pockets of her trench coat trying not to look as awkward as she felt, “I guess I'll be seeing you later I guess.”

Regina nodded, puffy eyes and red nose more obvious under the dim porch light. “Yes dear, and try not to be late Thursday for dinner or I won't let you in.”

“I'll bring flowers and bourbon.” Emma joked, kind of. Regina looked like she had something to say yet thought against it, but Emma had already caught the look. “What is it?”

Regina cleared her throat, shifting Henry's weight in her arms staring down at the executive from the top of the porch steps, “Thank you.”

“You've thanked me plenty of times Regina, but as I've said time and time again...this is what friends do.” Emma knew that wasn't what Regina wanted to say originally but she wasn't going to push.

“Thank you for being the only friend I've ever had in my life that doesn’t want to take something from me.”

Emma blinked, “Oh.”

“Goodnight Ms. Swan.”

“Goodnight Regina. Is it okay if I call tomorrow to um, check on you guys? Is that okay?”

Regina nodded briefly, “Yes dear, that is perfectly acceptable.”

“Awesome...um...well, bye Regina.” before she could further make their goodbye any more awkward in her own mind, she turned and all but ran back to her truck. Emma felt like she was on cloud nine as she left the Mills property and yet—she still didn’t take notice of the man squatting in the bushes documenting it all after sneaking past the open gate that was carelessly left open.

On the drive home, Emma mentally and physically steeled herself to face the irate wolf that was no doubt anxiously waiting for her return—but even Ruby's unpleasant attitude wouldn't be able to deter Emma's good mood.

**SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ**

**SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, we're finally getting somewhere with SwanQueen...I kinda liked sensitive...vulnerable Regina, and I think Emma is making some real progress don't you think? Henry's issue has been revealed, not as bad as some thought it was going to be but it's not exactly a trip to candyland either...but the kid will be okay, he has a great support system. Santa and his mom. :D
> 
> Shit is about to hit the fan in the next chapter with that paparazzi stalking them. oooo. 
> 
> Well I hope you guys liked this hallmark ass chapter, lol. I admit I enjoyed writing it. Bye for now...
> 
> Monster


	8. Backlash

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

**SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ**

**SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ**

_**Location Unknown...New York...[Saturday, January 24 th...12:51 am]** _

“ _These are the best photo's you could get?! Hand holding and driving together? I am **not** paying you for this shit...do I need to find someone else?”_

_The photographer shuffled his feet nervously, “I-I'm sorry but that's all they've been doing a-and—”_

“ _Next time we meet. I better have something better than this. I don't want a fucking scandal...I want her career. Get out.”_

_The photographer frantically collected the photo's that were scattered on the tiled floor and quickly left the room as humanly possible, not missing the fact that his employer kept the still shot of two political powerhouses holding hands, faces inches apart._

SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ

_**Torch Magazine Headquarters, 1 World Trade Center New York, NY....[Wednesday, January 28 th...10:03 am]** _

Emma was fashionably late like she always was...it was her thing, especially when doing an interview for magazine's such as _Torch._ Instead of her usual 'straight off the runway' business attire, Emma chose to wear a pair of white straight leg jeans with a crème colored cotton turtle neck and a black blazer that was literally named after her; “The Emma Blazer” and black penny loafers.

Ruby blinked away the black dots from the insanely bright flashes, thankful that the elevator doors finally closed. She looked at Emma in bewilderment, “Why the hell do you have paparazzi stalking you? You're a CEO, you don't act or sing.”

Belle laughed, “I'm shocked you don't know. When she's not dominating Wall Street and whipping clowns into shape with numbers, Emma is a model. She's every socialite's dream without being one herself. Living one life is hard enough...but for Emma, living two is like breathing air.”

Ruby's curious gaze turned into anger and worry—a look Emma wasn't sure was even possibly, “You're risking _everything._ ” the tall brunette hissed.

Emma stared at Ruby with a cool gaze, “Time and time again, and I'm still here.” the elevator doors opened, Emma walked out and a very confused Belle trailing behind her. Ruby growled quietly, narrowly avoiding being squashed between the two metal doors.

_Torch_ headquarters looked like every other magazine company main office; a large lobby with a oversized receptionist desk, Ruby could barely see the top of the man's head but Emma didn’t bother to stop to greet him, she went right to the double doors that were instantly buzzed open. Past the lobby was even colder in a sense of modern fashion for furniture type of way but Emma and Belle seemed quite comfortable with all eyes on them as they walked through the isle's of cubicles and office's alike, beneath the Swarovski chandeliers—the werewolf felt uneasy and she was thankful Emma didn’t say anything about her carrying a gun today.

The interview room was just as grand and forbidding as the rest of the office but the skyline view of the city behind the white leather sofa made the room seem larger than it really was. Belle and Ruby sat in the two black leather chairs next to the door behind the tripod holding a camera that was sitting next to another plush arm chair.

Belle patted Ruby's bouncing knee smiling kindly at the wolf, “Why are you nervous? You're not the one on spotlight.”

“I thought this was a magazine company...what's with the camera?”Ruby shrugged, crossing her arms tightly.

“Torch has an online exclusive show that specializes in live videos...so there are no edits or anything; they believe in raw reactions and stuff.” Emma's phone buzzed in her hand and she smiled. Ever since Saturday, she and Regina have been texting non-stop...it was mostly about Henry but they seemed to be managing three different conversations simultaneously.

The door was opened and slammed just as quickly, startling all three women The woman who entered was probably the most eccentric looking woman Ruby has ever seen in this century...and she was Santa's best friend. The angular woman was tall and had medium length black (right side) and white hair (left side) and she wore the longest, and most ridiculous black fur coat and Ruby had to bite back a snarl...that was real fur. She pressed a button on the camera, a red light appeared before sitting down. Emma met Ruby's heated gaze apologetically, but focused her attention on her interviewer.

“Cruella de Vil...been a while.”

“Far too long darling, far too long.” Cruella gestured to Emma's outfit with a look of approval, “I suppose I can be relieved you still know how to dress.”

Emma crossed her legs at the knee, “Thanks. How are you?”

“Miserable, darling, as usual. Perfectly wretched.”

“Um...”

“Tell me darling when will you enrich the runways of Paris and Milan? I grow bored of these sticks wearing business fashion. _You_ are the epitome of business. You should be wearing those suits...or you could just wear my furs darling. You'll look ravishing.”

Emma's face reddened slightly at Cruella's praise, “Uh...well, I've been kinda busy lately and—”

Cruella waved off Emma's excuse, “But not busy enough to do this interview, hmm?”

Emma shrugged, lacing her fingers together over her knee to avoid fidgeting. “I don't walk the runway anymore but I'm still under a three year contract with Mayhem Parkes. So I don't really have a choice but to be here unfortunately.” Emma ignored Belle's warning glance, Emma was never good with press and that wasn't going to change anytime soon.

Cruella however just smirked, and it made Emma uncomfortable. “Financial adviser, CEO and model. How do you manage darling?”

“Um...” Emma licked her lips, “Well, my assistant Belle French is my life savor so I have to give all the credit to her. She manages my work life, I manage my personal life.”

“Sounds unfair...your business life is huge. What about her personal life?”

“Well yeah...her schedule is fine Cruella. She hasn’t complained so...we're good I guess.”

The eccentric woman chuckled, “You guess? That doesn’t sound very reassuring, Emma. In fact, after that response I'd expect the Tyrant Swan rumors to start again. Anyway as lovely as it is to see you darling I must offer you a confession.”

“You do?” Emma's eyebrows raised in question, and the phone in her hand was buzzing. She looked down to see that it was Regina was calling which was odd because Emma was sure that Regina was aware she had an interview...in fact...Regina had her own press conference down at city hall. So why was she calling? Did something happen to Henry? Emma was about to excuse herself but Cruella offered her a photo. When the blonde finally registered what she was seeing, all color drained from her face and Ruby was about to run over but Belle stopped her.

“You see, I'm a really terrible person.”

“What the hell is this?” Emma hissed worriedly, and it was making Ruby anxious.

Cruella's smile was one similar to the cat eating the canary, “I didn’t bring you here to talk about fashion darling...I just wanted to be the first to cover the scandal between the Wall Street Wolf and the Mayor of New York.”

“Scandal? There's no scandal? We're just friends, that's all!” the reason why Regina was calling made sense to Emma now, and Emma felt sick to her stomach. The very thing that they were both fearing was happening...of course it was only directed at the two of them, but they could only handle so much before the topic of Regina's son came up. “This photo is racy but there is nothing sexual going on between Regina and I.”

Cruella's thick painted eyebrows rose, a devilish smile matching the glint in her blue eyes. “I could have sworn it was Mayor Mills to everyone but her son. First name basis sounds rather intimate darling...remember you're streaming live. Pick your lies carefully.”

“I'm not lying, we're just friends and colleagues. It's strictly platonic.” _no matter how much Emma wanted to kiss her, love and caress her._

Cruella caught the look and leaned in carefully, keeping out of the view of the camera. “But you want more, don't you?”

“I don't appreciate you bringing me here under false pretenses and ambushing me, Cruella. I came here to promote fashion and business, not whatever bullshit agenda you clearly have going on here.”

“Oh come off it dear, this isn’t your first scandal...but it's the first you’ve been caught red handed.”

“Okay. You know what?” Emma crumbled the picture and stood, lips pressed firmly together. “I'm done here.”

“Don't worry darling...there is more where that came from. Thank you for stopping by, I look forward to our next meeting.”

Emma stopped and stood over Cruella's chair, not caring about being streamed live anymore and ignoring Ruby and Belle calling her name. But Emma simply shook her head and walked out with her head held high but behind her facade, her heart was pounding hard. This wasn't supposed to happen.

SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ

_**CEO E. Swans office, Wall Street New York [ Wednesday, January 28 th ...11:03 am]** _

Emma was pacing in her office with a glass of whiskey in her hand, she had promptly kicked Ruby out of her office—the last thing she needed was her friend in her ear lecturing about things that were already said and done. Emma needed to fix the mess she has unintentionally created...and she had yet to call Regina back or answer any of the brunette's phone calls. She was nervous about facing Regina with a definitive game plan but of course Emma should have known better.

Regina was not a woman to be denied.

Not even Ruby dared to try and stop the woman from storming into Emma's office and slamming the door shut behind her. Emma rolled her eyes as she stood at the bar with her back turned to her visitor, “Why is everyone slamming doors today?” she dropped two ice cubes into her tumbler.

“Ms. Swan, Why haven’t you been answering any of my phone calls?! This is not the...are you _drinking?_ ”

Emma went to sit behind her desk with a loud sigh, “She caught me off guard. Look I know what the headlines are saying right now but we can't give them a reaction...we just have to—”

“Ms. Swan I'm perfectly capable of thinking for myself.”

Emma refrained from rolling her eyes, “Then why are you here Regina? I don't care what they say about me, but you're the one with a lot to lose.”

Regina went to Emma's bar to fix herself a glass of water, “I don't particularly mind either Ms. Swan but—”

Emma's office phone cut of whatever it was the Mayor was about to say, Emma put the phone on speaker—knowing exactly what this phone call was going to be about. “Yeah, Belle what's up?”

“Sorry to interrupt Emma but Todd Kinney just sold his stocks with us and sends his deepest apologies.”

“What was the excuse?”

“He, well, he didn’t mind that you are a lesbian, he disapproves of _who_ you were being a lesbian with.”

“That's new.” Emma snorted, stealing a glance at Regina's stony face. “Thanks Belle, um...take a message for the rest of my calls until further notice.”

“Sure!” click.

Emma picked up her pen and wrote down yet another name on a sheet of paper, and Regina was shocked and angered at how long that list was. “During my political campaign, I've crushed a lot of toes to get here. Emma—”

“It's just business Regina. Numbers go up and down, it's not a big deal.”

“Not a big deal?!” Mayor Mills all but shouted, “It _is_ a big deal, have you not seen the headlines lighting up town square?”

“Yeah I have, _“Two Tyrants In Love”_ is the worst the one but c'mon...this will blow over. Just focus on being the best at your job and Henry, 'cause he really needs you right now.”

“Ms. Swan.” Emma didn’t like that tone or the way Regina was leveling her with that cool gaze of hers, “I didn’t come here for idle talk. I came to warn you that this situation is only going to get worse and it's going to make our jobs a lot harder than necessary.” Regina took a drink from her own tumbler, sighing deeply. “Perhaps it would better if you distanced yourself from—”

“Nope. I'm not letting bad press ruin our friendship...or anything else. C'mon Regina...don't let these junkets shake you.” Emma looked past Regina's cool demeanor and saw the truth—Regina wasn't scared of the press slamming but she was afraid to lose the only person she has truly called a friend in such a short time. “Regina...our friendship is gonna be stronger than ever by Christmas and I'm willing to put five dollars on it.”

“Five dollars? That's what I'm worth to you Ms. Swan? Five dollars? I feel cheap.”

Emma laughed, glad to see a hint of a smile from the brunette. “Our friendship is gonna be priceless...but I'm still gonna bet five dollars we're gonna be best buddies by Christmas.”

“I'm sure you’ll be running for the hills beforehand.”

“Okay, then it's a bet.” Emma leaned forward, holding out her hand. “Shake on it.”

Regina looked between Emma's hand and the blonde's face several times to gauge if she was being serious or not—chuckling softly, Regina shook Emma's hand firmly. “This is utterly ridiculous.”

“I look forward to being five dollars richer, maybe I can finally afford to get a full meal from McDonald's...I think.”

Regina set her glass down on the coaster on Emma's desk as she gathered herself to leave, “Don't be late tomorrow Emma.”

“Yeah, yeah you've told me only a million times now. Go be Mayor or something.”

Regina rolled her eyes, “Idiot.” she walked out of Emma's office, selectively ignoring the blonde's mumbled comment, _“Yeah...your idiot.”,_ that she was sure she wasn't supposed to hear but it warmed her heart. Cora Mills was wrong, there are people in this world who want to like her...she's not destined to be alone for the rest of her life. There were few people...but they were there and that's all Regina cared about. Perhaps at first it was just Henry yet Mayor Mills was slowly visioning Emma being in her future as well.

Ruby stood from her seat as Regina approached on her way to the elevators, the taller brunette blocked the other woman's path but much to her displeasure she smelled no fear from Regina. “Stay away from Emma, Mayor Mills.”

“Oh...you're her little lap dog, aren’t you? Rufus?”

Ruby bit back snarl, _“Ruby.”_

“Irrelevant.” Mayor Mills countered coolly, walking around Ruby to press the down button. “Unless Ms. Swan personally tells me to never call her again, I'm afraid you and I will be seeing a lot more of each other in the near future dear.”

“Emma is being too nice, you're putting her in danger and I'm warning you now to stay away from her or—”

“Or what? What goes on between Ms. Swan and I is private.” the elevator doors opened and Regina stepped onto it like she owned it, “Do us all a favor and go take yourself for a walk. Fresh air might do you some good, dear.”

The elevator doors closed soundly, leaving Ruby fuming on the top floor while Regina chortled all the way down to the first.

**SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ**

**SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know...I just can't find a Regina I like the most for this story...but I guess depending on the situation, one of her many personalities will come to light I guess. I guess I'm going for good Regina, but can turn bitch in 2.3 seconds, ya know?
> 
> This wasn't a media frenzy and them going at it like the pro's they are. I wanted to catch them off guard with some media backlash...media frenzy will come later, but not this soon. Plus I really just wanted to put Cruella in here one good time.
> 
> All mistakes are my own. 
> 
> Anyway, bye awesome nerds.


	9. Immortal But Not Invincible

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Late night update, all mistakes are my own.
> 
> Enjoy my awesome nerds!

**SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ**

**SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ**

_**E. Swan residence...2209 Ocean Parkway, Brooklyn, New York...[Thursday, January 29 th...2:01 am]** _

Unable to sleep, Emma found herself standing in front of her double door stainless steel refrigerator looking for something...anything—in a black tank top and red boy shorts. She wasn't especially hungry but she was craving a snack. Closing the refrigerator, Emma moved to her walk in panty in search of what she wanted the most but of course...living with a damn wolf, the beef jerky supply she kept on the top shelf was completely depleted. _Of course._ Emma rolled her eyes and stalked back upstairs to her bedroom.

She was working on two hours of sleep and all she wanted was some beef jerky, and she couldn't even have that. Ruby was her best friend and she loved her, but she had to _stop_ eating all of the goddamn food.

After the interview and Regina's visit yesterday, Emma had just packed up her stuff and went home for the rest of the day. Working from her home office was less stressful...no one could really bother her at home. Emma threw herself into work to avoid Googling her name or Regina's—she did not need to see what bullshit was circulating about them, hell even TMZ caught wind of it and was spinning their own little story. However as soon as her head hit the pillow, a new worry hit her...Henry. Her truest believer. She tossed and turned but deep sleep wasn't coming to her because her mind was too wrapped around the fact that _maybe_ she could try to repair his hearing but she had no idea the price of such an action would cost.

There were plenty of witches in New York and she was positive someone knew or better yet, had a book on such great spells. It was just a matter of finding them. But in the meantime, Emma was putting on a pair of gray sweats and a dark blue hoodie because she was going to Wal-Mart to get more jerky. It was a thirty minute drive but it would be completely worth it.

“Emma?”

The blonde closed her fist over her Ferrari key fob, other hand on the garage's door knob. _So close._ “Yeah Ruby?”

The wolf came down the stairs, her sleepy confusion slowly morphing into awareness and suspicion. “Emma it's two in the morning, where are you going?”

Santa was starting to wonder just who the hell as in charge here. This was her house and she go in and out how many times she damned well pleased, at whatever time. Johanna never said anything to Emma, and that's the way she liked it. There was trust but Ruby was hovering and Emma was starting to regret allowing Ruby to come live with her.

“Well, I wouldn't have to go anywhere if you hadn’t eaten all of my beef jerky, my ice cream, my left overs...you need to get a job.”

“I live with the richest person in the world and you're complaining about food?”

“No. I'm complaining about you being a pain in my ass Ruby.”

“I'm your best friend, it's my job to annoy you besides, I'm also your protector...the same protector you grounded to this house so yeah, I ate all your food. Sue me.”

Emma shook her head at Ruby, “What's wrong with you Rubes? Why are you acting like this?”

“I'm the same Em, it's you who's being weird and careless. Since when did you model? Expose yourself to the modern world like that? You don't age, or did you forget that...do you not care anymore?”

“Ruby, I've been around for a little over a millennium and I've been surviving just fine _before_ you and granny and everything else. Have a little trust in me.”

“I can't. Not when you're getting yourself involved with a mortal.” the taller woman growled, eyes flashing angrily and a bit of jealously, but Emma could care less about any of that.

“Ruby, we broke up. Two hundred years ago to be exact. We weren’t working out then, and we won't work out now.”

“You can't know that if you don't even try Emma!” Ruby took a small step forward and Emma held her ground, “I am willing to give my life for you Emma, doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

Emma stared hard at Ruby, knowing what the younger woman was doing...and there was a time when Emma would have fallen for that, as she had many times before but she knew better now. “As a friend, yeah Rubes...it means a lot but that's about all. Go back to bed, I'll be back in an hour.”

“Fine.” Ruby stared down at her bare feet sadly, “Be careful.”

Emma sighed deeply, “Yeah, I know. I will be...um, anything you want from the store?”

“Nah, just double on everything you're getting.”

Emma nodded and walked into the garage, slipping on her uggs that were sitting by the door. She slid into her yellow Ferrari LaFerrari. She didn’t trust Ruby not to follow her to the store, so Emma reactivated the binding spell and she could feel Ruby's irritation as she took off into the night. In the mood to take the scenic route, Emma had her phone sitting in her lap and was humming along to the radio. Of course no matter what time is was, there was always traffic in New York—nothing heavy but enough to annoy Emma. The phone in her lap began to buzz which, unfortunately, cut off her music since her phone was connected to the radio.

Emma smiled when she saw who was calling her, “Tiana! I didn’t think I'd hear from you so soon.”

“ _I was catering Charlotte's wedding all day and you know how wild that girl can get!”_ Emma smirked, oh she knew alright—she's gotten Charlotte's Christmas wish list a handful of times to know that girl was not as innocent as her father would like to think she was, _“Anyway, I was just callin' to let you know that I got the book y’all looking for. I have to go down to the bayou to get the damn thing but it's here.”_

Emma sighed with relief, putting the car into gear when the light turned green. “Awesome! Listen I can come get it sometime next week, I'll let you know when I'm in town Tiana.”

“ _I suppose you ain’t gonna tell my_ why _Santa, the most powerful sorceress to ever exist, wants the ancient spell book of healing?”_ Emma could hear Tiana's smile through the phone but the seriousness of her curiosity was ever present.

“Trust me Tiana it's a long story but when I get down there, I'll tell you if you have some of those famous beignets hot and ready for me?”

“ _Of course I will Emma, and ya know Naveen and Charlotte are goin' to be there too. It's been a while since you brought your frosty ass to hell's kitchen!”_

Emma laughed out loud, taking her eyes off the road momentarily. “Yeah, yeah...just make sure Charlotte doesn’t eat all the beignets before I get there.”

“ _She couldn't if she tried...now her daddy on the other hand? Ha! I have to lock my kitchen up at night now. I'm headin' off to bed now, have a breakfast party tomorrow for Naveen's parents. Call me later Emma?”_

“Of course Tiana and thank you.”

“ _Anytime honey, be safe in the big city!”_

Emma gave Tiana her word before hanging up and she put her phone down and waited almost impatiently for this next light to turn green. She was the only one at the light, the rest of the pack were stuck behind her at another light. Emma's fingers thrummed lightly on the steering wheel. When the light finally turned green, Emma shot off—she barely had time to react when another vehicle slammed into her.

SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ

_**Mayor Mills Manor...2108 Mifflin Ave, Brooklyn, New York...[9:17 am]** _

Regina had gotten out of bed at her usual time but she wasn't going into the office today, she used the excuse that her son was unwell and that she'd be working from her home office. She rescheduled all of her meetings, but phone calls would be directed to her office land line.

She's been up all morning holed up in her office all morning, on the phone with Henry's school. She had politely, but firmly resisted their pleas and offers and withdrew her son from their program. They didn’t know of his sudden misfortune but Regina had read through their handbook thoroughly and she would not have her son placed in special education and treated unfairly. He,and any other child, in his position deserved the best. Until Henry got a hold of sign language, and adjusted to his new way of living—Regina was going to have him home schooled, but she had no idea where to start.

She planning on asking Emma later when she stopped by for dinner—Regina never had anyone over for dinner and honestly, she was nervous...she wasn't sure what Emma liked to eat, but she was sure she wasn't going to serve the woman alcohol given what the Mayor has discovered Emma and alcohol are best friends.

She sent Emma a text almost an hour ago, but there wasn't a response yet and Regina found that strange since Emma _always_ answered immediately. In such a short time, Emma had managed to warm her way into Regina's good graces enough to be called a friend and though Regina was still waiting for that other shoe to drop—having a friend, a real friend, was the best feeling in the world.

Regina heard little feet running through the hall towards her office—she opened her mouth to tell Henry to stop running but of course. She was going to have to get used to that. She wasn't surprised when he came bouncing in still in his pajamas’s—he hasn’t been to school since last Friday.

“Hi mommy!” Regina smiled softly, they were still working on his volume but in due time she knew everything would get better. She pulled her son into her lap, giving him a tight hug.

“Good morning sweetheart.” She kissed the top of his head sweetly, she didn’t care if he couldn't hear her anymore...she would never stop talking to her son. Regina picked up the small white board she picked up from the store the other day and drew what she hoped looked like pancakes. Before she could show her son, he was yelling her name and pointing to the TV across the room—his anxious bouncing in her lap caused her to drop the white board and marker.

“Henry!” Regina set her hands on his little shoulders, “What in the world...” Regina trailed off when she looked at what caught his attention on the TV and her blood ran cold. Even if Emma's picture wasn't sitting at the top right hand corner of the screen—she would recognize that yellow Ferrari anywhere even if half of it was now a yellow mangled mess in the middle of the street.

Regina picked up the remote and turned up the volume as Henry turned around in her arms for another hug, “Oh my god.” Regina mumbled, rubbing Henry's back.

_**Breaking news [Serious accident shuts down parts of the Bayonne Bridge]** _

“ _A serious accident has shut down parts of the Bayonne bridge around 2 am this morning. Two cars were involved in this crash.”_

“ _The pictures look awful and the officers on the scene have already reported that one of the drivers was well over the legal alcohol limit for driving. As you can see from the live feed, both cars are all smashed up; debris covering the road and sidewalks. Both cars were totaled. The police say that there were several people in the SUV which crashed into a brick wall; and the Ferrari, which Wall Street's own, Emma Swan was in, was flipped over.”_

Regina put a hand over her mouth when the camera's began showing live feed of the accident and she could see just how bad the accident was—no one could survive that. No one. She held Henry's head closer to her chest, unaware that she was rocking them back and forth.

“ _Just thirty minutes ago Paramedics and firefighters have finally managed to get Emma Swan out of her vehicle and rushed her to the hospital but her current status is unknown. The drunk driver who is in critical condition was rushed to the hospital hours before but his five passengers, sadly, did not make it.”_

Regina closed her eyes tightly, trying to calm her beating heart but it would not be tamed, it _could not_ be tamed. The Mayor pulled Henry away gently and looked into his watery wide brown eyes, she tried to smile for him but she wasn't sure she could even smile for herself.

“Henry sweetheart, can you go get dressed for mommy? Please?” she talked slowly in hopes that he could read her lips like he has been for the past few days—it was touch and go, but it worked until Emma could teach... _Emma._ Regina felt a hand tightening around her heart and her stomach churned at the possibility that Emma could very well be dead right now.

Henry frown as he stared at his mother's lips, trying to figure out what she was saying. Regina repeated herself patiently, but this time gesturing at her own clothing and Henry perked up slightly, “Clothes? Change clothes mommy?”

Regina sighed with relief, and nodded encouragingly. “Yes sweetheart, yes.” she set him down and watched as he ran out of his room as if the wind was carrying him. Regina rubbed her face and followed him upstairs, preparing herself for the worst.

SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ

_**New York Methodist Hospital...Brooklyn, New York...[10:00 am]** _

Due to the added traffic from the closed sections of the Bayonne bridge and people attempting to take short cuts, it had taken Regina's driver longer than expected to get them to the hospital was brought to (after Regina made a few phone calls ). Regina's patience was wearing thin and by Henry's constant fidgeting—Regina suspected his was as well.

She supposed she should have told the idiot to pull around back because she knew the press would be flocking near the entrance of the hospital—and she was right, but honestly...she shouldn't even had to say anything to her driver. She was the Mayor, it was common sense to pull around back. Regina reached over to her son, and pulled his hood over his head and pulled him into her lap. She kissed his cheek just before her door was opened by a police officer, he helped Regina out of the vehicle and pushed through the crowd of vultures who were yelling out question after question all at once while taking dozens of photographs. Thankfully, the officers on the scene were prepared for her arrival and she and her son were given plenty of breathing room...with the obscene questions being yelled, part of Regina was grateful that her son wasn't able to hear any of it—even if it were for just a moment.

_On the eighth floor..._

The police officer who had opened her door escorted her all the way to the elevator, and kindly told her which floor Emma was on. With Henry securely in her arms, Regina stormed towards the station as if she owned the entire building. The nurse that was on the phone, did a double take when she saw who was approaching with fire in her eyes. The young woman quickly hung up in her boyfriends face and stood, earning strange looks from her colleagues, but she wasn't sure what else she should do—the Mayor had her sights on her.

“M-Mayor Mills, what can I do you for ma’am? I-I mean how can I—”

“Emma Swan.” Regina snapped, ignoring the stares directed her way followed by the hushed whispers, “Where is she?”

“I'm, I'm sorry Mayor Mills but Ms. Swan's assistant ordered no guests. So you're not allowed b-back there.” the poor girl looked like she was about to pass out, yet none of her friends jumped in to help her out when Regina's piercing gaze narrowed.

“Excuse me?”

“Room 815.”

Regina put Henry down and held his hand as they both walked into Emma's hospital room...the curtains were drawn to keep the sunlight out, giving the room an eerie feeling...the heart monitor was steady but it did nothing to ease Regina's heart. She felt Henry's hand tighten within her own, and she wanted nothing more than to tell him it was okay, that Emma was okay but it'd quite literally fall on deaf ears.

Belle looked up, surprised to see the Mayor but in fact she really shouldn't have been—she was more surprised that it wasn't Ruby that came running through the door, given how in love she seemed to be with Emma.

“Mayor Mills, hello. Ah, Henry...hi.” Belle dabbed at her tears frantically, almost embarrassed. “How are you both?”

Regina ignored Belle's question as she moved closer to Emma's unoccupied bedside, with Henry close behind her—almost scared to approach. Emma didn’t look as bad as she should have been considering what rescue officials had to dig her out of. Emma had lacerations all over her exposed skin that they could see, and the wrap that was peeking out near her neck from beneath her hospital gown suggested that she had some broken ribs and—

“What happened to Santa mommy?”

Belle looked at Henry in confusion but he was staring up at his mother, “Santa? Who is...oh...he thinks Emma is Santa?”

“It's a fantasy of his.” Regina sighed, “Do you mind giving us some privacy?”

Belle hesitated for a moment, but reluctantly and quietly left the room. Regina wondered what the young woman's problem was but she couldn't bring herself to actually care about Belle and her strange behavior.

“Mommy? Is Santa gonna be okay?”

Regina didn’t have the heart gesture for Henry to lower his voice, but a part of her, a very selfish part, wanted Emma to wake up. She wanted to see those beautiful green eyes that were so open and guarded at the same time—eyes, that mirrored her own. The woman who worked her way around Regina's armor who had quickly gained her trust and become a true friend—Regina wanted Emma to tell her that everything would go back to normal...that Regina wasn't going to lose another part of herself to tragedy or betrayal.

Regina ran her hands through his thick brown hair, and smiled down at him reassuringly but she wasn't even sure. She didn’t even know what was wrong with Emma in the first place.

Henry leaned forward on the bed railing, stretching on his tippy toes—he traced the necklace that had miraculously survived the wreck and whispered something Regina didn’t quite catch, but he kept whispering and kept whispering and when the brunette leaned down to catch what her son was saying...Emma groaned groggily, eyes blinking open. Regina was so surprised, she completely missed the way the crystal snowflake's glow beneath her sons hand disappearing—but Henry didn’t. It only confirmed his suspicions about Emma.

“My truest believer...” Emma rasped, smiling somewhat but Regina has seen better from the woman. “Hi kid...” Henry had no idea what Emma said, but he returned her smile excitedly.

“Emma? I'm calling a nurse.”

Fast as lightening, Emma caught Regina's hand before she could reach for the call button. Emma may be in a weakened state, but she was still stronger than the average mortal, “Wait..no, I'm okay. I'm fine, I promise Regina.”

Regina frowned down at Emma, the woman was clearly out of her mind if she thought she was fine...it might have been the morphine they had her on, “Ms. Swan you are most certainly _not_ okay. You should be...” Regina took a deep, calming breath and tried to take her wrist back but Emma wasn't having it. “Emma, let me go right now.”

The blonde didn’t release Regina but she allowed her eyes to slip closed once more, the morphine was fighting her back and she knew she didn’t have much time before she was rendered unconscious once more. “Regina...listen to me...Henry, I found help.”

Regina stopped struggling and looked down at Emma with wide eyes, while Henry went to the corner of the room where the remote was and began flipping through the channels looking for cartoons. “What?” Mayor Mills leaned down until she and Emma were cheek to cheek, Regina's hear close to the executives mouth. “Emma?” she whispered, voice full of concern and confusion.

“Louisiana...down by the bayou...I found help for Henry...” Regina involuntarily shivered when Emma's warm breath washed over her ear, “How, Emma, _how?”_

Emma took a deep breath, turning her head towards Regina's—her lips were moving against the brunette's smooth skin but no sound escaped the CEO's lips and it took Regina a moment to realize that Emma was knocked out. She reached behind her to pull the hospital chair closer so she could sit down...

She may not have heard what Emma wanted her to hear, but she felt it...Regina _felt_ what Emma wanted her to hear.

“ _Magic.”_

**SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ**

**SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ**

  
  


  
  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I guess I found Regina's calling card in this story since it seemed to be well received in this particular story...I kinda like it to be perfectly honest, until next time! Thanks for the kudos and comments! I really appreciate them.(:
> 
> Monster


	10. Everything's Gonna Be Alright

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the comments and kudos, I truly appreciate it! Happy reading.
> 
> I don't own OUAT.

**SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ**

**SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ**

_**New York Methodist Hospital room 815...Brooklyn, New York...[Wednesday, February 12 th..11:00 am]** _

Emma Swan was sitting up for the first time in her hospital bed days after being admitted. She felt disoriented and uncomfortable, and she was having a difficult time keeping up with everything that has happened in the past week. The doctor had explained everything to her before taking his leave but Emma was having a hard time wrapping her mind around it all.

The week she was supposedly in a coma. It was something that baffled the hospital staff but given the severity of Emma's concussion, it was something they listed as a possibility for the hospital staff and they were well prepared to keep Emma well and comfortable until she was ready to come back—if she came back; a grim reality that the fractious Mayor of New York refused to acknowledge. Regina was at the hospital every free moment she could spare, and that included Henry as well since he was no longer enrolled in school and until Regina managed to figure out how to handle that situation without exposing Henry to the cruel world called 'The Press', she often worked from her home office and the days she couldn't avoid being out in public Mayor Mills enlisted Henry's previous caretaker, Mary Margaret Blanchard, to keep an eye on him until Regina could weasel her way out of whatever ordeal she wanted no part in.

Between her job, her son and Emma—Regina felt like she was juggling three basket balls, and it was a matter of time before she dropped one.

Emma brought her knees up and rested her head on her crossed forearms, the throbbing behind her head was dull but it was still painful none the less and she didn’t know what the hell happened, and the light from the massive skyline window was brutal against her sensitive eyes and with all the flowers spread all around her hospital room made it seem brighter and the smell was irritating her nose. The constant beeping from that damned machine behind her was killing her nerves one beep at a time and it was a matter of time before she unleashed hell on that annoying device, and it seemed to be beeping faster with each passing moment.

Emma felt the tips of her fingers spark deliciously with familiarity, just as she turned to shut the machine up once and for all—the door opened. Belle and Emma stared at each other for several beats before a brilliant smile broke out over Belle's face and she rushed into the room, gathering Emma into her arms, sobbing with relief. “You're awake! They weren’t sure you would wake up but we knew you would wake up Emma, we knew you would! You're too young to die, and you're a fighter! We had faith! I'm so happy to see you Emma, you haven’t a bloody idea how hard it is to work knowing you were here, and we couldn't help you.”

As happy as she was to see the young brunette, and she was, Emma's body had been inactive for a little over a week and she was weak, tired and sensitive. The executive patted her assistants arm weakly when she pulled away to let Emma breath, offering the biggest smile she could muster, “I'm glad to see you too Belle, but uh...who is this 'we' you're talking about?”

Belle sat down in the chair next to Emma's bed, setting her massive red leather bag in her lap completely unaware of the lost look in her boss's eyes, “Besides myself and Johanna? The Mayor and her son, and your loyal clients and employee's. Mayor Mills has been hounding your nurses like clock work, she never misses a check up and she's been in your corner every chance she can get. I’ve always thought she's been a bit of a hard ass but I never thought it would be a good thing.”

Emma's mind was reeling; lawsuits? Lawsuits for what? And what the hell was Regina defending her name for? They weren’t friends, were they? Belle, still oblivious to Emma's confusion, kept talking animatedly, “And with the way she's been fending off rumors and lawsuits for you, I'd say she's proving to be a better friend than Ruby.”

Santa raised her head slightly, looking over at Belle in confusion. “Ruby? How do you know Ruby? What does Ruby have to do with any of this?”

“What do you mean how do I know Ruby?” the younger woman finally caught onto Emma's expression and she gasped softly, “Emma...does any of this ring a bell to you?”

Emma bit her bottom lip and shook her head slowly, “Nope.”

Belle slowly got out of her seat, her own eyes tearing up but she managed to keep them at bay—she was suddenly regretting sending the Mayor an overjoyed message of Emma being awake, though she was sure the hospital already informed the older woman—Belle would rather not be under the same fire the staff was going to be on the receiving end when Mayor Mills discovered this minor hiccup. That woman wanted no issues with Emma's recovery, and this would be considered quite the issue, no matter how natural it was.

“I'll be right back Emma.”

Emma watched the brunette walk out of the room quickly, and as soon as the door closed—Emma reached under her dreadful light blue gown and ripped off the patches that were on her chest and pushed aside the blanket over her legs. She couldn't stay in this suffocating place anymore, she needed time for herself—and it was obvious she wouldn't get it laying in that bed watching people she didn’t know walk in and out all damn day. The machine's beeping turned into something far worse...a drawn out whining sound and Emma waved her hand in it's general direction and it ceased immediately. Emma continued to ignore the throbbing pain at the base of her skull and snapped her fingers—when the white smoke cleared, she was wearing a pair of black soccer styled sweatpants, Nike running shoes and a comfortable hoodie with a white large Swan on the front that wore a crown on it's head.

Emma rolled her shoulders, wincing slightly as her bones popped for the first time in days. She shuffled towards the door and opened it with her head held high on a stiff neck...

Only to come face to face with none other than Regina Mills herself, and she did not look happy.

SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ

“Ms. Swan.”

“Uh...Madam Mayor? Hi?”

To Emma, Regina looked drastically different than she remembered her. Her short hair had grown down to her shoulders and she found that she liked it that way, it gave Regina this look that Emma couldn't describe but she liked it—a lot, but it didn’t change the fact that the Mayor's overly familiar look made her uncomfortable.

From the way Belle was talking about the Mayor, Emma assumed that they were friends but she couldn't remember and she felt guilty for not remembering. Regina took a step forward, forcing Emma to take a step back and they continued that dance until Regina was able to close the door soundly behind her.

“Was there somewhere you were planning on going Ms. Swan?”

Emma shook her head, still confused—and she was growing tired of feeling confused. “I um, I was just going out to get some fresh air.”

“I'll ask your nurse to open a window, until then...” Regina looked at the unoccupied bed pointedly, “I suggest you rest your body before it collapses. You have been unconscious for days Emma, give it some time dear.” Regina had arrived in time to hear Belle questioning Emma's doctor about her memory and she walked right past the duo, ignoring their calls for her to stop—and it was a good thing she did so, as Emma was about to make a run for it and who knew what kind of trouble the woman could get herself into in her condition. _Idiot._

Emma held up a hand, smiling respectfully but Regina knew better than to trust that smile, “Now look here Madam Mayor...I'm under the impression that we're friends and all, but I'm not getting back in that bed and you can't make me.”

The Mayor's eyebrows rose as if saying _'oh really?',_ and if Regina were being quite honest (and she usually was) she'd say Emma's mind reverted right back to her adolescent years with the whole runaway scheme she tried to pull and now the back talk. “Ms. Swan, I understand that all of this might be overwhelming and alarming to you but I assure you that I will make sure that you're well taken care of but not until you get back in that bed.” Regina crossed her arms, using the same no nonsense tone she used with her son when he was being stubborn and grouchy.

Green eyes narrowed as the owner of them laughed incredulously, “I'm not a child Madam Mayor, I'm a grown woman perfectly capable of taking care of myself, but thank you.”

Regina sighed deeply, reaching out to put a restraining hand on Emma's strong bicep to keep the blonde in place. “Emma, you think you're well but you're not. Your mind needs time to catch up and—”

“Do you not smell that?!” Emma spread her arms out, and the jerky movement startled the brunette but she held her ground. “There is a smell in this room that is driving me nuts and I need to get the hell out of here.”

“Emma, I don't smell anything but hand sanitizer. Just get back in the bed so the doctor can make sure that you didn’t put anymore unnecessary strain on your body...and your brain.” the brunette added sarcastically but she was serious. The blonde tried to stare the woman down but Regina set her hands on her hips and she wasn't having it.

Emma rolled her eyes—ignoring how sore her eyes felt from such a simple action—she stuffed her hands in the front of her hoodie, “I just wanna go home.”

Regina's expression softened when Emma began pouting, it was so odd seeing the normally composed woman pouting and giving her the best puppy eyes she could muster—it reminded her of Henry when he couldn't get his way. Though if the Mayor was being completely honest with herself, Emma's pouting and puppy eyes were just as effective as her sons, and it melted right through her defenses.

“I'll make you a deal Ms. Swan, you get back in that bed while I go get the doctor and if you let her do her job peacefully, I will have everything in this room removed if it bothers you so much.”

Emma eyed Regina suspiciously, trying to detect any source of deception but she found none but the blonde wasn't satisfied with that deal, not yet. “Get my release forms today, and I'll sit through a CT Scan if she wants me to.”

Regina fought back a smile, leave it to Emma to sweeten the deal and make it harder concurrently—nonetheless, if it got her back in the bed, Regina would take what she could get. Mayor Mills watched Emma climb back in the bed though she made a show of keeping her shoes on and crossing her arms impatiently. Regina gave Emma one last warning before stalking out of the room. _Figures._ The one _true_ friend she had managed to find and she ends up in a coma one month later, and wakes up with amnesia. Typical Regina Mills luck.

Regina didn’t have to travel far from Emma's room thankfully because Emma's doctor, Dr. Smith, and Belle were coming down the hallway.

The tall doctor cleared her throat, nodding politely at Regina in hopes to soften the womans frown, but no such luck—and not for the first time Dr. Smith wished she had a patient with less hostile friends. “Good morning Mayor Mills.”

“Dr. Smith.” Regina tucked her hands into the pockets of her trench coat haughtily, “Would you please explain to me that Ms. Swan's amnesia wasn't mentioned to over the phone? I believe that is something of importance to warn friends and family, is it not?”

Dr. Smith started to answer but heavy breathing and footsteps behind them caught the attention of the three woman standing just in front of Emma's door—Johanna came to a stop, her purse hanging on the crook of her elbow.

The elderly woman took a deep breath, “I got here as fast I could with the traffic. How is she? Is she alright? Is she still awake?”

Belle set a calming hand on Johanna's shoulder with a kind smile, but it was Regina who spoke. “Breathe Johanna. Emma is very much awake but I believe the good doctor here forgot to inform us of something very important over the phone. Dr. Smith?”

The doctor willed herself not to give the Mayor of New York a dirty look, lest she commit career suicide—she was sure the Mayor had more class than that, but she'd rather not take the chance. She has seen Regina Mills in action during election year.

“Yes of course, I was just about to explain that Ms. Swan seemed perfectly fine when I ran a check up on her right before the call was made to you all. But we've also prepared for this when she first slipped into the coma, it was explained that Ms. Swan would more than likely suffer severe but short term memory loss.”

“More than likely?” Regina huffed as Belle wrapped a comforting arm around Johanna, “I recall your exact words of Emma losing her memory being _'slime to none'_. You also stated it was a miracle that Emma managed to survive the accident with minimum damage yet—”

“My staff and I are doing our best to keep Ms. Swan as comfortable as possible Madam Mayor.” Dr. Smith cut the brunette off as politely as she could manage and Belle bit her bottom lip to hide her smile, looking between the doctor and the Mayor as Johanna was. “It was a small oversight on our part, yes, and for that we apologize and we have been more than accommodating to your demands for Ms. Swan. But as I've said her memory loss is not permanent but it's undetermined how long it will take for it to come back to her. While I do normal suggest familiar faces, smells and environments; I strongly suggest keeping her relaxed. She survived a traumatic experience yes but we don't know what happened between the time she was hit and the time they got her out of the wreck.”

Dr. Smith took in the solemn expressions of the women in front of her, wishing there was more she could say or do but at this point...the rest of the healing process was up to Emma. “Ms. Swan is free to go as soon when I prepare her release forms, now if you ladies will excuse me I would like to do a second check up on my patient.”

Mayor Mills stepped aside and allowed the doctor access to Emma's room and following in after her without a word.

Belle pulled away from Johanna and took Regina's spot in front of the door, looking down the hall expectantly but she wasn't surprised that the face she was looking for wasn't there. The brunette looked at the older woman curiously, “No Ruby today?”

Johanna's shoulders slumped slightly and Belle noticed right away, “Ruby is...Ruby wants to be here, Ms. French but it's far more complicated than I can explain. Please try to understand.”

Belle's jaw set and she shook her head in disappointment, “I'm sorry Johanna but I don't exactly see Ruby as best friend of the year right now. Mayor Mills, of all people, has been here in Emma's corner far more than Ruby has.”

“It's complicated but Ruby means well...it's just that, she's, well, she's in a difficult position right now. But I know more than anyone if Ruby could find a way to be here, she would be here.”

Belle had no idea what to do with that cryptic answer but she knew an excuse when she heard one. Just then her cell phone began to ring and Belle sighed yet again as she fished her phone out of her purse, _work stopped for no one._ “I'm just disappointed with her Johanna, that's all. Please excuse me.”

Johanna watched the brunette walk towards the vending machines, talking into her phone quietly. The older woman could understand Belle's anger towards Ruby but she could see how destroyed Ruby was being bound to Santa's home _knowing_ she was failing her duties everyday—she'd understand that Ruby was trying her hardest to escape but Emma's magic was old, and it was strong and it was airtight. It was rare that the blonde left any loop holes. Johanna walked into Emma's room,noting the genuine surprise on Emma's face when she saw her.

“Johanna! I was wondering when you'd get here. Ready to take me home? Doc just said I was free to go as soon as you sign my papers. I can't be alone or something, I don't know. But I have you at home, so it's all good now Doc, so lets get those papers printed.”

Johanna coughed softly into her handkerchief, looking at the doctor and the Mayor then back to Emma nervously. “About that Emma...” Johanna loved Emma like she was her own daughter—she'd been around the blonde long enough to know what was best for her, and her next words were going to be hard for both herself and for Ruby but this was about a sense of duty to make sure that somehow, someway that Emma keeps her promise to the little boy and his mother and Emma's well being overall. “I'm afraid that I won't be able to sign your release forms. I'm going back to the station for a family emergency.”

Emma blinked, confused and sat up a little more. “What? Johanna what...?” Emma trailed off, knowing she couldn't say much more with the two mortals in the room but her eyes said it all for Johanna. Emma knew she was lying but she didn’t know why and it broke Johanna's heart to turn away from Emma when the woman clearly needed her so very much but Emma had a responsibility to uphold—amnesia or not, Johanna was going to make sure Emma made that boy's wish come true. Because as much as she could see that Emma needed her, Johanna could tell that Regina needed Emma more. Whether either of them knew it or not. The older woman was grateful that she and Emma were not alone in the room, she wasn't sure if she could do this is they were alone.

Johanna forced a smile, “Perhaps the Mayor can sign your forms, Emma.” the short redhead couldn't bring herself to look at the brunette, she was feeling guilty enough already. She looked at Dr. Smith who was looking entirely uncomfortable and wishing she was anywhere but in room 815. This is not how Johanna planned for this visit to go but it was something that had to be done. She turned away and walked out of the room just as the tears began to fall.

Emma looked at Regina then back to the spot where Johanna just was, mouth agape. Johanna was handing her over to the Mayor of New York? Regina Mills of all people? What the hell was she missing? Did Regina know about Emma—The blonde looked at Regina a little more closely but the woman was giving nothing away and Emma felt that she knew more when she was in the damn coma.

Belle was still on the phone by the vending machines when she saw the older woman power walking down the hall towards the elevators, shoulders shaking but she stayed put.

“Hm, I will go draw up your release papers now Ms. Swan, I will be back shortly.” Dr. Smith looked between Regina and Emma one last time before slipping out the room almost desperately.

Emma crossed her arms again, once again pouting and regardless of the reason why—Regina still found it endearing on the younger woman. She sat on the edge of Emma's bed and took one of Emma's hands in her own, forcing her to uncross her arms. “Emma...”

“You can sign my release papers Madam Mayor but you don't have to babysit me, I can take care of myself.”

Regina raised an eyebrow, “Emma, we're friends and friends don't allow each other to be alone with memory loss.” Emma laughed lightly, involuntarily though Regina smiled anyway, happy that she could get the Wall Street executive to smile. “Emma, you may not remember much of anything pertaining our friendship and I assure you that while we may not have been knitting buddies, we were well on our way.”

“I'm sure we were Madam Mayor,” Emma took her hand back gently and Regina instantly missed the warmth and softness of Emma's skin against her own. “But I know you have a son and you're the Mayor and stuff...I won't burden you with this. I'll be fine, trust me. I have a feeling that this isn’t the first time I've lost my memory.”

Regina wasn't sure how to address that last comment, so she didn’t but she wasn't going to let Emma out of her sight until she was positive the blonde was a hundred percent. “You won't burden me at all, in fact I'm sure Henry would love to have you over—he's been asking about you a lot lately.”

“Madam—”

“Regina.”

Emma paused, staring at the brunette strangely, as if she had grown a second head. This was not the Regina Mills she knew...but then again, Emma was almost a year behind time in her mind but it was still strange to her. “Um, okay...Regina, um...I, I well...the doctor said a familiar environment would help jog my memory. How is me being at your house helping me?”

“Your...ahem, Johanna seems to believe otherwise. I'm just as confused as you are dear, however I am willing to try my best to help you any way I can if you're willing.”

Emma shrugged, unsure—if anything she was just more vexed than she was before. “Belle mentioned Ruby earlier...do you know her?”

“You don't remember her?” Regina tried to keep her amusement at bay, but it was hard since she wasn't exactly trying.

“No, no I do but Belle mentioned her and I was wondering if you knew anything about it? Where is she?”

Mayor Mills straightened her coat and stared out the window, her politician mask falling perfectly and Emma was sure that wasn't a good thing. “Ms. Lucas was currently acting as your lover and bodyguard though I am only aware that one of those titles is true?” guarded brown eyes met green and Emma shrugged nonchalantly.

“Ruby and I broke up hundreds of years ago. There is nothing there.”

Regina barely reacted at Emma's exaggeration nodding. “Good. The invitation to my home extends to you, not your mutts Ms. Swan. Be sure to remember that.”

Emma nodded dumbly, unable to generate any other response. _Regina knew._ She had to have known that Emma was Santa...it made sense. Johanna trusting the Mayor as her new handler, Regina seemingly unphased when Emma mentioned that she and Ruby have been apart for hundreds of years and now Regina was calling Ruby a dog. It all made sense but Emma wasn't foolish enough to let her guard down completely nor was she going to ask the woman outright. She was going to play her cards carefully.

“Of course Regina, would you happen to know where Ruby is now?”

“According to Belle, your pet has been holed up inside of your home for the past two weeks.”

That was so unlike Ruby, Emma pondered, she knew Ruby would be right by her side at this very moment and the fact that she wasn't...Emma hummed quietly, nodding to herself unaware that Regina was watching her like a hawk from the corner of her eye. Just then Dr. Smith came breezing in holding a thin red folder, and wearing a bright smile. Regina stood and took the folder the doctor handed to her, the release forms sitting on top.

“Inside that folder is general information on how to spot signs of PTSD and how to handle them accordingly, and a list of recommended therapists if you need them Ms. Swan.” Dr. Smith ignored the glare from Emma, and gestured for the Mayor to sign the papers. “Just sign on the dotted line at the bottom near the red 'X' on the following three pages, Madam Mayor and Ms. Swan is free to go.”

Regina took Dr. Smith's offered pen, eyes searching Emma's questioningly as Emma was doing the same to her. The more she observed the way the two women interacted with each other Dr. Smith was sure that those headlines in the tabloids were true...there was something going on between the Mayor and the Wall Street Wolf, though it was none of her business...but she was positive that the chemistry Regina and Emma shared wasn't something a journalist couldn't just make up. She could feel it just by _looking_ at them look at each other.

Finally Emma nodded her consent and Regina signed the papers and handing them over to the Doctor who wished them well. Regina released the breath she didn’t realize she was holding. Emma was hers.

**SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ**

**SQ :: SWAN QUEEN :: SQ**

  
  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, a little explanation on why I went left field in this chapter...actually, I'm not even in the field anymore to be perfectly honest.
> 
> A guest over on FF asked me a good question....Santa status aside, would Emma even be doing any of the things she is doing willingly if she had never gave her word to Henry? It was a good question, and considering I'm putting the Santa Status aside...it's a damn good question. So I decided to do this. 
> 
> The story is on track, it's just a little longer...and it's slowing things down a bit, and I'm giving Emma and Regina more, a hell of a lot more, time together. It's sudden considering how long they've known each other and whatever but I put that on Johanna, and given the fact that Regina holds onto anything or anyone that genuinely wants her for her, no matter what it is they want...friendship or more...she holds on tight. So really, this all works well for me. 
> 
> All mistakes are my own.
> 
> See y'all next chapter, lol.

**Author's Note:**

> The chapters here will be half as long as my "Dark as Knight" chapters, give or take. This tale is considerably lighter than my other SQ stories, but still just as fun. Emma's, as always, is stronger here than she is in the show...you know, she's her own government...Snow and Charming, or Henry don't run shit here. Robin Hood is here, and I probably won't kill him...but let me just say this now...there is no way I'm writing Outlaw Queen...not even a mutually shared sexy look.
> 
> Chapter 1 and DAK chapter 10 (for those following it) are being edited as we speak. Thanks for reading:)
> 
> Monster Galore


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